Multiple Injured as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight into Sydney

Several people were hurt after a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated five patients, and transferred three to hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. The injured ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers saying that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the representative added, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

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

In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the sudden jolts of a jet going through rough air masses generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As global warming shifts weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are expected to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.