A Number of Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes Delta Flight into Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they evaluated five individuals, and took three of them to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and migraines. The injured ranged from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the most recent case of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the official said, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Emergency responders said they got a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through rough air masses generate more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: warming trends and altered air currents in the jet stream level are expected to heighten the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.