A Number of Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt following a Delta flight from LA to Sydney experienced turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated five individuals, and transferred three to hospital with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

It is the newest example of planes experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers saying that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

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

During the past year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing short but intense of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through unstable air apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As global warming modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.