Multiple Hurt as Turbulence Impacts Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt after a Delta flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney encountered significant turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they evaluated five patients, and took three of them to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the most recent case of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with aviation specialists pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders indicated they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is getting more frequent - and more severe.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "significant" turbulence just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a terrifying five seconds period of extreme instability. One passenger passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of more than 35 million aircraft departures that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a jet going through disturbed air apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.