Several Injured as Turbulence Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Emergency medical services said they treated a total of five people, and transported three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official noted, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

Paramedics reported they received a call just only 180 seconds before the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is growing more common - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet going through rough air masses apply more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: warming trends and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.