Multiple Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured following a Delta Airlines aircraft from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they assessed five patients, and transported three to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that such as pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft encountering turbulence, with researchers saying that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the representative said, adding that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Emergency responders said they were alerted just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is growing more common - and more severe.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through unstable air apply greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As global warming alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are expected to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.