Multiple Affected as Turbulence Hits Delta Flight into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines aircraft from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five patients, and transferred a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as back pain and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of planes encountering turbulence, with researchers saying that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official noted, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders indicated they were alerted just three minutes before the plane landed, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through disturbed air apply in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As climate change modifies the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to increase the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.