A Number of Affected as Turbulence Strikes Delta Plane into Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta aircraft from LA to Sydney encountered rough air this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Local paramedics stated they evaluated a total of five people, and transported three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets experiencing turbulence, with researchers pointing out that global warming is a major factor.

On board were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the official added, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics indicated they were alerted just three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

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

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "severe" rough air just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As a changing climate shifts weather patterns, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become less smooth: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are expected to boost the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.