Several Injured as Turbulence Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney

Several people were hurt when a Delta aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated a total of five people, and took three to a medical facility with minor injuries that included spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the newest example of aircraft encountering turbulence, with experts saying that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

There were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the representative added, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Paramedics indicated they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is growing more common - and more severe.

In the previous year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to heighten the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.