Several Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured after a Delta aircraft originating in LA to Sydney was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated five individuals, and took three to the hospital with minor injuries that included spinal discomfort and head pain. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets encountering severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative added, clarifying that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they were alerted just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" rough air just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through unstable air apply greater than a significant G-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As global warming modifies weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.