Several Injured as Rough Air Impacts Delta Plane Landing at Sydney

Several people sustained injuries after a Delta jet originating in LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated a total of five people, and transported three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and migraines. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official noted, stating that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

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

During the past year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight experienced a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. A traveler died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while cases of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through rough air masses generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to boost the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.