A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured following a Delta Airlines jet originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they assessed a total of five people, and took a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that included back pain and migraines. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the most recent case of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with experts indicating that climate change is a major factor.

There were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Paramedics said they received a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

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

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while occurrences of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft experiencing unstable air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to increase the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.