A number of individuals have been injured when a Delta Airlines flight originating in LA to Sydney experienced turbulence this past Friday.
Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.
Emergency medical services reported they evaluated five individuals, and took a trio to hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and migraines. The injured were between their 30s up to the 70s.
It is the newest example of commercial jets being hit by turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.
There were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the representative noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.
The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.
The reasons turbulence is growing more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.
Last year, 25 people were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "considerable" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.
In 2024, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.
Turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.
Estimates show that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that now take off globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet experiencing disturbed air generate in excess of a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.
As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.
Maya Chen is a seasoned tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and cybersecurity.
