A Number of Injured as Turbulence Impacts Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney

Several people have been injured after a Delta Airlines jet traveling from LA to Sydney was hit by rough air this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services reported they treated five individuals, and transported three to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and migraines. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with aviation specialists pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they got a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is growing more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "considerable" turbulence just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft experiencing rough air masses generate more than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.