Multiple Hurt as Turbulence Hits Delta Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta aircraft originating in LA to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

Local paramedics said they assessed five individuals, and took three to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised back pain and head pain. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the latest incident of planes encountering severe turbulence, with aviation specialists pointing out that global warming is a significant contributor.

There were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

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

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight went through a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a total of more than 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet experiencing rough air masses exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are expected to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.