Multiple Injured as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight originating in LA to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Local paramedics reported they evaluated five individuals, and took a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of planes encountering severe turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Paramedics said they got a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more frequent - and more severe.

During the past year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" rough air just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a aircraft experiencing rough air masses generate greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.