Several Hurt as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Flight Arriving in Sydney

Several people were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Local paramedics stated they evaluated five patients, and transported a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that comprised back pain and head pain. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with aviation specialists pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders said they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

During the past year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual died and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing unstable air exert in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming modifies atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.