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

A number of individuals sustained injuries after a Delta aircraft originating in LA to Sydney encountered significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Local paramedics reported they assessed five patients, and took three to the hospital with minor injuries that included back pain and headaches. The injured spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

There were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they were alerted just three minutes before the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "severe" turbulence just two hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a total of over 35 million flights that currently occur around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the up and down movements of a aircraft passing through unstable air generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are likely to boost the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.