Several Affected as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Flight Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured following a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered turbulence this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed five individuals, and took three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the newest example of aircraft encountering severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official said, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they were alerted just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and more severe.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "considerable" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that currently occur around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing rough air masses apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change alters weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to heighten the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.