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

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney encountered rough air Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five patients, and transported a trio to hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured ranged from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the most recent case of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics said they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting more common - and often stronger.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million journeys that now take off worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through disturbed air exert more than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.