A Number of Injured as Rough Air Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Several people have been injured when a Delta flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered significant turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed five patients, and transported a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that such as back pain and headaches. The injured were between their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the most recent case of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, clarifying that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they were alerted just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million journeys that are conducted around the world.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft passing through rough air masses generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are projected to heighten the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.