Multiple Injured as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they evaluated five patients, and took a trio to hospital with relatively minor issues that such as pain in the back and migraines. The injured ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of planes encountering severe turbulence, with experts saying that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Emergency responders indicated they got a call just three minutes before the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through unstable air generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.