A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta Airlines flight from LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

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

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five patients, and transferred three to hospital with minor injuries that comprised pain in the back and migraines. Those affected were between their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets experiencing turbulence, with experts saying that climate change is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the representative noted, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting more common - and more severe.

In the previous year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through disturbed air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change modifies the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.