Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Aircraft into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they evaluated five patients, and took three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that included back pain and head pain. The injured spanned from their thirties and seventies.

It is the newest example of planes experiencing turbulence, with researchers saying that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson added, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders indicated they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight endured a frightening five seconds period of extreme instability. One passenger passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that currently occur around the world.

Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft going through rough air masses generate greater than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.