Several Injured as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Flight Arriving in Sydney

Several people have been injured after a Delta flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

Emergency medical services said they evaluated five individuals, and took three to hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

It is the latest incident of planes experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that global warming is a significant contributor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative noted, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

Emergency responders reported they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a sum of over 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a aircraft going through unstable air apply more than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As a changing climate shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.