Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured following a Delta flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official told. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Emergency medical services said they assessed five individuals, and transferred three to the hospital with minor injuries that included back pain and headaches. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the newest example of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts indicating that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Emergency responders reported they were alerted just three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, 25 people were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight experienced a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet going through disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As global warming modifies the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are expected to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.