Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Plane into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered significant turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed a total of five people, and took three to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers pointing out that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane touched down, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "significant" turbulence just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while cases of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Severe turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a plane experiencing rough air masses apply in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate shifts atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to boost the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.