Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services reported they assessed five patients, and transported three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages were between their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the most recent case of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with experts pointing out that global warming is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the representative noted, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

Paramedics said they received a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "considerable" turbulence just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while cases of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a overall number of over 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a jet passing through unstable air apply greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As global warming alters weather patterns, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.