A Number of Affected as Rough Air Strikes Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured after a Delta Airlines aircraft from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated five individuals, and transferred three to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and head pain. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

It is the latest incident of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the official noted, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just only 180 seconds before the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

During the past year, 25 people were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a harrowing short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft going through unstable air generate more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.