Multiple Affected as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured after a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by rough air Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services stated they treated five patients, and transported a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that such as back pain and head pain. The injured spanned from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the most recent case of aircraft encountering turbulence, with researchers saying that global warming is a key driver.

There were 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the official added, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Paramedics reported they were alerted just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

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

Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane going through rough air masses generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the jet stream level are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.