A Number of Hurt as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

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

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they treated five individuals, and took three of them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the latest incident of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

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

Emergency responders said they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is growing more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing rough air masses generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.