Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Several people sustained injuries following a Delta aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they evaluated five patients, and took a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included back pain and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft experiencing turbulence, with experts saying that global warming is a major factor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the official noted, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

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

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are approximately thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of more than 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet passing through disturbed air apply in excess of a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As climate change modifies weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are expected to boost the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.