Several Affected as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics said they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that such as back pain and migraines. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers pointing out that global warming is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is getting more common - and often stronger.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. A traveler passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while cases of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that are conducted globally.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a aircraft passing through disturbed air exert greater than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As a changing climate shifts weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.