A Number of Affected as Turbulence Strikes Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured when a Delta flight originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included back pain and headaches. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the newest example of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

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

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a terrifying short but intense period of extreme instability. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft going through unstable air generate more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.