Multiple Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Flight into Sydney

A number of individuals have been injured when a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Local paramedics said they treated five individuals, and transferred three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets encountering severe turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight went through a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a plane passing through rough air masses exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As climate change shifts weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.