Several Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft into Sydney

Several people were hurt after a Delta Airlines jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney encountered significant turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated five individuals, and took a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts saying that global warming is a key driver.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the representative added, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics said they were alerted just three minutes prior to the plane landed, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more frequent - and more severe.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" turbulence just two hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that are conducted around the world.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft experiencing rough air masses apply more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As global warming alters the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.