A Number of Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta flight from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

Emergency medical services reported they treated five individuals, and transported three of them to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages were between their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the most recent case of aircraft experiencing turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is growing more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" turbulence just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. A traveler lost their life and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while occurrences of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million flights that currently occur worldwide.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through rough air masses generate more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As climate change shifts the conditions in the sky, experts warn that air travel could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.