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

A number of individuals have been injured when a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated a total of five people, and transferred three of them to a medical facility with minor injuries that included back pain and head pain. The patients' ages were between their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with experts pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

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

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight went through a harrowing brief five-second period of extreme instability. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft passing through disturbed air apply more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As a changing climate shifts weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are expected to boost the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.