3 injured as turbulence hits Delta flight landing in Sydney

Three people were taken to a hospital after a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles encountered turbulence shortly before landing in Sydney on Friday, health officials in Australia said.

Paramedics assessed five people and transported three to the city’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for further treatment, a spokesperson for the New South Wales Ambulance Service confirmed to NBC News.

They suffered “minor injuries” and remained in stable condition, the spokesperson added.

“The patients have asked that no details be provided to the media,” a spokesperson for the Sydney Local Health District said in a separate email.

“The most common cause for turbulence on flights around Sydney is convective storms,” according to Michael Heisel, a lecturer at The University of Sydney’s School of Civil Engineering.

“These weather events are becoming more common in Australia with the warming climate,” he said in an email Friday.

Flight-tracking data published by Flightradar24 showed the plane from Los Angeles landed just after 6.40 a.m. local time (3:40 p.m. Thursday ET).

Delta Air Lines did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.

But a spokesperson told the BBC that the Airbus A350 “encountered brief turbulence” as it landed at Sydney Airport but that it landed “safely and normally.”

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members aboard the flight, the spokesperson said.

Turbulence is common on many flights and over the past year several people have been injured as planes from multiple airlines have encountered it.

In July, 25 people were taken to hospital after a Delta flight heading from Utah to Amsterdam experienced “significant turbulence” and had to land in Minneapolis. And in September, three flight attendants also suffered minor injuries during a turbulent Delta flight from Ecuador to Atlanta.