Multiple Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt when a Delta Airlines aircraft from LA to Sydney encountered rough air this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Several cabin crew members were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed a total of five people, and took three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers saying that climate change is a major factor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" turbulence just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a jet going through disturbed air generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.