Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries after a Delta Airlines aircraft from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed a total of five people, and transported three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and headaches. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that global warming is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official added, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more frequent - and often stronger.

In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a frightening five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a total of more than 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft experiencing 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 seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.