A Number of Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta aircraft from Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they evaluated five individuals, and took three to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected ranged from their thirties and seventies.

It is the most recent case of aircraft experiencing turbulence, with researchers saying that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.

On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official said, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they received a call just only 180 seconds before the plane touched down, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a aircraft passing through rough air masses exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.