Several Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Flight into Sydney

Several people were hurt after a Delta jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Four flight attendants were injured.

Emergency medical services reported they evaluated five patients, and transported three of them to hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with researchers saying that global warming is a major factor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the representative noted, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders said they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane arrived, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million journeys that currently occur worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing rough air masses apply more than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.