Several Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Flight into Sydney

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced significant turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five patients, and transported three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. The patients' ages were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the newest example of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that global warming is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson said, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they got a call just three minutes prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a aircraft going through disturbed air apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity 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 weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.