A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt when a Delta jet from LA to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services stated they treated a total of five people, and transferred a trio to hospital with minor injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a major factor.

There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders said they received a call just three minutes before the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

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

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a frightening brief five-second period of extreme instability. An individual passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a total of more than 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur worldwide.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through disturbed air exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As global warming alters atmospheric conditions, experts warn that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to boost the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.