A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries after a Delta flight originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

Emergency medical services stated they treated five individuals, and transferred a trio to hospital with minor injuries that such as back pain and headaches. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

It is the most recent case of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official said, clarifying that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more frequent - and more severe.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the vertical motions of a plane experiencing disturbed air apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change shifts the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.