Multiple Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta Airlines aircraft from LA to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five individuals, and transported three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of planes encountering severe turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

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

Last year, 25 people were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" turbulence just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through unstable air generate greater than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.