Multiple Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney

Several people were hurt following a Delta jet traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics said they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred three of them to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included back pain and migraines. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the most recent case of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Paramedics indicated they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that are conducted worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane going through unstable air apply greater than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.