Several Injured as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Flight Landing at Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured when a Delta Airlines jet from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated five patients, and transferred a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and migraines. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the most recent case of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the representative said, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more common - and often stronger.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "considerable" turbulence just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying short but intense period of extreme instability. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that currently occur worldwide.

Intense turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a plane going through disturbed air exert in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the jet stream level are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.