Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Flight Arriving in Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney encountered turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Local paramedics reported they treated five patients, and took three of them to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that such as pain in the back and migraines. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the official noted, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

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

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight endured a frightening five seconds of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while occurrences of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane going through unstable air generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, experts warn that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.