Multiple Affected as Turbulence Impacts A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney experienced turbulence Friday morning.

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

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed five individuals, and transferred three of them to hospital with minor injuries that such as back pain and headaches. The injured were between their 30s to 70s.

It is the newest example of planes being hit by turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a major factor.

There were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

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

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that now take off worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft passing through unstable air apply more than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming shifts weather patterns, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.