A Number of Injured as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta jet from LA to Sydney was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred three of them to hospital with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and head pain. The injured ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with experts saying that climate change is a key driver.

There were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the official said, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

In 2024, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of over 35 million flights that currently occur around the world.

Severe turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a aircraft going through unstable air apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As a changing climate shifts weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.