Multiple Injured as Turbulence Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines aircraft from LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Four flight attendants were injured.

Local paramedics said they treated a total of five people, and transported a trio to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages were between their thirties and seventies.

It is the most recent case of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers saying that climate change is a key driver.

There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the official added, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

Paramedics reported they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" turbulence just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a terrifying brief five-second period of extreme instability. One passenger lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are around thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million journeys that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a aircraft experiencing rough air masses exert more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As global warming modifies the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.