Multiple Affected as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries when a Delta jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they evaluated five individuals, and transferred three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that such as pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the newest example of planes experiencing severe turbulence, with experts saying that climate change is a major factor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official added, stating that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they were alerted just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are around thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur around the world.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a plane going through disturbed air exert greater than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As a changing climate shifts weather patterns, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.