Multiple Affected as Rough Air Impacts Delta Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five patients, and transferred three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with experts saying that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they were alerted just three minutes before the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is growing more frequent - and more severe.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a terrifying short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are around five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet going through rough air masses apply in excess of a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.