Multiple Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured following a Delta Airlines jet traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Local paramedics stated they evaluated five individuals, and took a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The injured were between their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the newest example of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the representative said, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they were alerted just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a frightening five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through rough air masses generate greater than a significant G-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As global warming modifies the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.