Several Injured as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

Local paramedics stated they treated five patients, and took three of them to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and headaches. The injured spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with experts indicating that climate change is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and 15 crew members 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.

Emergency responders said they received a call just three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more common - and often stronger.

In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "severe" turbulence just two hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air generate greater than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As global warming alters weather patterns, specialists caution that flying could become bumpier: warming trends and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to boost the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.