A Number of Injured as Rough Air Hits Delta Flight Landing at Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated five individuals, and transferred three to hospital with minor injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and head pain. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.

It is the newest example of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that climate change is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the official added, clarifying that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they got a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "considerable" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence while flying, and while occurrences of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane going through disturbed air apply more than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the jet stream level are expected to boost the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.