Several Affected as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney encountered rough air on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson told. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

Local paramedics stated they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred a trio to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the most recent case of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with experts saying that global warming is a major factor.

There were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson said, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Emergency responders indicated they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of more than 35 million flights that are conducted around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane experiencing disturbed air apply in excess of a significant G-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As global warming modifies atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to increase the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.