A Number of Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured when a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by rough air this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated five individuals, and took three of them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as pain in the back and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of planes experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson said, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Paramedics indicated they were alerted just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting more common - and often stronger.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "significant" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million flights that are conducted around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through rough air masses apply more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that air travel could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.