Multiple Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt following a Delta Airlines jet from LA to Sydney was hit by rough air Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they evaluated a total of five people, and took three to hospital with relatively minor issues that such as back pain and migraines. The injured spanned from their thirties and seventies.

It is the newest example of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official said, stating that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Paramedics reported they received a call just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million journeys that currently occur around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through disturbed air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As climate change alters weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.