Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured when a Delta aircraft originating in LA to Sydney experienced turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Emergency medical services reported they evaluated five individuals, and transferred three to hospital with relatively minor issues that such as pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the most recent case of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists saying that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

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

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a terrifying brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through unstable air exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change modifies weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.