Several Injured as Rough Air Hits Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

A number of individuals sustained injuries following a Delta aircraft originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services reported they treated a total of five people, and transported three to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and migraines. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of planes encountering severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a significant contributor.

On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, clarifying that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders indicated they got a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

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

Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a frightening five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence while flying, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a plane experiencing disturbed air apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change shifts the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.