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

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta Airlines jet from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Local paramedics stated they treated five patients, and took three of them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson said, clarifying that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they received a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" turbulence just two hours into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air generate more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that air travel could become bumpier: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.