Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Hits A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Four flight attendants were injured.

Emergency medical services said they evaluated five individuals, and took three of them to hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the most recent case of planes experiencing turbulence, with experts pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

During the past year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" turbulence just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a harrowing brief five-second period of extreme instability. A traveler died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are approximately thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing disturbed air apply more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to heighten the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.