A Number of Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney

A number of individuals sustained injuries when a Delta aircraft from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Local paramedics reported they evaluated five patients, and took a trio to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included back pain and headaches. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft experiencing turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a key driver.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Emergency responders reported they received a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is growing more common - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet experiencing unstable air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change shifts the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to heighten the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.