A Number of Injured as Rough Air Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney

A number of individuals sustained injuries when a Delta flight from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Local paramedics reported they evaluated five patients, and transferred three to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The injured ranged from their thirties and seventies.

It is the latest incident of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a key driver.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the representative said, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

Emergency responders said they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is fairly routine while flying, and while occurrences of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a plane going through disturbed air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As climate change alters weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.