Several Hurt as Rough Air Strikes Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney

A number of individuals sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in LA to Sydney experienced rough air on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they evaluated five individuals, and transported a trio to hospital with minor injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.

On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official noted, clarifying that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes before the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a harrowing five seconds period of extreme instability. One passenger died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while cases of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet experiencing disturbed air generate more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As global warming alters weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.