A Number of Injured as Turbulence Hits Delta Plane into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries after a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they evaluated five patients, and transported three to a medical facility with minor injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with experts indicating that climate change is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the official added, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Emergency responders reported they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

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

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while cases of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet experiencing disturbed air exert greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that flying could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.