A Number of Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Several people sustained injuries following a Delta flight originating in LA to Sydney, Australia encountered turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services said they evaluated a total of five people, and took a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that such as back pain and headaches. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with researchers saying that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the official said, adding that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

Paramedics said they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. An individual died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet going through unstable air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As global warming shifts weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to boost the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.