Several Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Plane into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured when a Delta flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air Friday morning.

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

Local paramedics said they assessed a total of five people, and took a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the latest incident of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with experts saying that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Paramedics indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more common - and more severe.

Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "considerable" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a total of over 35 million flights that currently occur worldwide.

Severe turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft passing through unstable air generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.