Multiple Hurt as Rough Air Strikes Delta Flight into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured when a Delta flight from LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated five individuals, and transported three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.

It is the most recent case of planes being hit by turbulence, with experts saying that global warming is a major factor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official noted, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away 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 strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of more than 35 million flights that currently occur globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming alters weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.