Several Affected as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney

A number of individuals sustained injuries after a Delta jet from LA to Sydney was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Emergency medical services stated they evaluated five patients, and transferred a trio to hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised back pain and migraines. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

Paramedics reported they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" turbulence just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million journeys that currently occur globally.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a jet going through rough air masses apply more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As a changing climate shifts weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.