Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred three of them to hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and head pain. The injured spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the newest example of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that global warming is a significant contributor.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative added, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they got a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

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

In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight went through a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while instances of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a plane going through rough air masses exert greater than 1.5g-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 shifts weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are projected to boost the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.