Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants were injured.

Local paramedics reported they evaluated five individuals, and transferred a trio to the hospital with minor injuries that such as pain in the back and head pain. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative added, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

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

In the previous year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening brief five-second period of extreme instability. A traveler passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million journeys that currently occur around the world.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a plane passing through disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.