A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt after a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services said they assessed five individuals, and took a trio to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft encountering turbulence, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

There were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "severe" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight endured a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that now take off worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing rough air masses generate greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As climate change alters weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.