Several Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Emergency medical services stated they assessed five individuals, and took three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the newest example of commercial jets experiencing turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Paramedics reported they got a call just three minutes before the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of over 35 million journeys that are conducted around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through unstable air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.