Multiple Hurt as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney

Several people have been injured when a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered rough air Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson stated. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services stated they treated five individuals, and transferred a trio to hospital with minor injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the most recent case of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

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

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just three minutes before the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and more severe.

Last year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight went through a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through disturbed air exert greater than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As global warming alters the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become bumpier: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.