A Number of Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured following a Delta aircraft from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated five individuals, and took three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and migraines. The injured ranged from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of planes encountering turbulence, with researchers pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "severe" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a total of more than 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the up and down movements of a jet experiencing rough air masses generate in excess of a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are projected to heighten the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.