Several Hurt as Turbulence Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia encountered turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated five patients, and took three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets encountering severe turbulence, with researchers saying that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson said, adding that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "severe" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

In 2024, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a terrifying short but intense period of extreme instability. A traveler lost their life and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are around thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a plane passing through rough air masses generate more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.