Several Hurt as Rough Air Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Four flight attendants were injured.

Emergency medical services stated they evaluated a total of five people, and transported a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and head pain. The injured spanned from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists saying that climate change is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders said they got a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million journeys that currently occur globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet experiencing disturbed air exert greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As a changing climate modifies weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.