A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Hits Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Four flight attendants were injured.

Local paramedics reported they treated five individuals, and transferred three of them to hospital with minor injuries that included back pain and headaches. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.

It is the most recent case of aircraft encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.

On board were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official noted, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

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

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a harrowing five seconds period of extreme instability. One passenger lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft going through disturbed 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 a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become less smooth: warming trends and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.