Multiple Injured as Turbulence Impacts A Delta Airlines Flight Arriving in Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured following a Delta Airlines jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed a total of five people, and transported three of them to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and headaches. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the latest incident of aircraft encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that global warming is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, adding that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Paramedics reported they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane touched down, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are around thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through unstable air generate greater than a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As climate change modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.