A Number of Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed five patients, and transported three of them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The injured spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with experts pointing out that global warming is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "considerable" turbulence just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a terrifying short but intense of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while instances of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are around five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air exert in excess of a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.