Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Local paramedics reported they treated five individuals, and transferred a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the latest incident of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.

On board were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

Paramedics reported they received a call just only 180 seconds before the plane touched down, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting more common - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while instances of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a sum of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted around the world.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane going through disturbed air apply greater than a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming alters weather patterns, specialists caution that air travel could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are likely to increase the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.