A Number of Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured after a Delta jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated five patients, and transported a trio to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised pain in the back and headaches. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the most recent case of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with aviation specialists pointing out that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they were alerted just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are around thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of more than 35 million flights that currently occur around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.