Multiple Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured when a Delta Airlines jet originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services reported they assessed a total of five people, and transported three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and head pain. Those affected ranged from their thirties and seventies.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers pointing out that global warming is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "considerable" rough air just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur worldwide.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a jet passing through disturbed air exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.