A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

A number of individuals were hurt when a Delta jet traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they assessed five individuals, and took three to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and migraines. The injured spanned from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with experts pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the official said, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Paramedics indicated they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

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

Data suggests that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of over 35 million flights that currently occur around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through unstable air apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming alters weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.