A Number of Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured following a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Four flight attendants were injured.

Local paramedics said they evaluated five patients, and transported a trio to hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and head pain. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

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

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the official noted, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Paramedics reported they were alerted just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more common - and more severe.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a frightening five seconds period of extreme instability. A traveler lost their life and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million flights that currently occur worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.