A Number of Injured as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane Arriving in Sydney

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Emergency medical services reported they evaluated five patients, and took a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that such as spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers pointing out that global warming is a significant contributor.

There were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the representative said, stating that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they got a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

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

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight went through a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are around thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft experiencing disturbed air exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As climate change modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.