Several Injured as Rough Air Hits Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney

Several people sustained injuries after a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced significant turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated a total of five people, and transported three to the hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and migraines. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the latest incident of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that global warming is a key driver.

On board were 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official said, stating that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Paramedics said they received a call just a mere three minutes before the plane arrived, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million journeys that currently occur worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a aircraft passing through disturbed air apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change shifts weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.