Multiple Injured as Rough Air Impacts Delta Plane into Sydney

Several people have been injured when a Delta flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed five patients, and took a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the newest example of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that global warming is a key driver.

On board were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, clarifying that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics said they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

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

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the up and down movements of a jet going through disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As climate change modifies weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to boost the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.