A Number of Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines jet from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air on 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 sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services reported they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred a trio to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised back pain and headaches. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

There were 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while occurrences of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet experiencing disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.