Several Injured as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed five patients, and transferred a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included back pain and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the newest example of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the representative added, stating that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Emergency responders reported they were alerted just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more frequent - and more severe.

In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

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

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through rough air masses apply in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: warming trends and altered air currents in the jet stream level are expected to boost the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.