A Number of Injured as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines jet from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Local paramedics stated they evaluated five individuals, and transported three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with researchers indicating that global warming is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the official said, clarifying that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Paramedics indicated they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more common - and often stronger.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. An individual died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off globally.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a aircraft experiencing unstable air exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As global warming modifies the conditions in the sky, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.