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

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

Emergency medical services stated they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred three to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the newest example of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers pointing out that climate change is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the representative added, adding that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Paramedics indicated they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and often stronger.

Last year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight endured a terrifying short but intense period of extreme instability. One passenger passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a total of more than 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane going through disturbed air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.