Several Affected as Rough Air Impacts Delta Plane into Sydney

A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight originating in LA to Sydney experienced rough air on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated a total of five people, and transported a trio to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.

It is the newest example of planes being hit by turbulence, with researchers indicating that global warming is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative said, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

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

The reasons turbulence is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "considerable" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane experiencing rough air masses exert greater than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.