Several Injured as Rough Air Hits Delta Flight into Sydney

Several people have been injured following a Delta jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed five individuals, and transferred a trio to hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the newest example of aircraft being hit by severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official said, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics said they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft experiencing disturbed air generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.