A Number of Injured as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta Airlines aircraft from LA to Sydney was hit by rough air this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Local paramedics reported they evaluated five individuals, and transferred three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that such as back pain and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that global warming is a major factor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they received a call just three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and more severe.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" turbulence just two hours into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while cases of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a total of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing unstable air generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As climate change shifts weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.