Several Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Hits A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta aircraft originating in LA to Sydney, Australia encountered turbulence this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that such as pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the representative added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a overall number of over 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through disturbed air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become less smooth: warming trends and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.