Several Hurt as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney

Several people were hurt following a Delta flight from LA to Sydney encountered rough air this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated five patients, and transported three to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

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

There were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official said, adding that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

Paramedics said they got a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people were injured when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" rough air just two hours into the lengthy trip, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening five seconds of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet going through rough air masses generate greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.