A Number of Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Plane into Sydney

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

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics reported they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.

On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the official added, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders reported they got a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

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

In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that currently occur globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through rough air masses exert in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change alters weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.