A Number of Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Aircraft into Sydney

Several people were hurt following a Delta Airlines jet originating in LA to Sydney encountered turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated a total of five people, and transported three of them to hospital with minor injuries that included spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the newest example of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with researchers pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official said, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying brief five-second period of extreme instability. One passenger lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet passing through unstable air generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As global warming modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are projected to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.