Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines jet from LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants were injured.

Emergency medical services stated they treated five patients, and transported three to a medical facility with minor injuries that included pain in the back and head pain. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were 245 people and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics said they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a terrifying brief five-second period of extreme instability. An individual died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.

Intense turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a aircraft going through rough air masses generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to boost the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.