Several Hurt as Turbulence Strikes Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney

Several people have been injured after a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services said they treated a total of five people, and transferred a trio to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the newest example of aircraft encountering turbulence, with researchers indicating that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the representative said, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a frightening five seconds of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine while flying, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a aircraft going through rough air masses generate greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.