A Number of Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured following a Delta Airlines jet originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed five patients, and transferred a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included back pain and head pain. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s to 70s.

It is the most recent case of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers saying that climate change is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, stating that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Emergency responders reported they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "considerable" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, 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. One passenger passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

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

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet experiencing unstable air exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that flying could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the jet stream level are projected to increase the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.