Multiple Injured as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured after a Delta Airlines flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

Emergency medical services reported they assessed five patients, and transported three of them to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and migraines. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the most recent case of aircraft encountering turbulence, with researchers saying that global warming is a major factor.

There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just only 180 seconds before the plane touched down, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and more severe.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. One passenger passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a jet going through disturbed air generate greater than a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As global warming modifies atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.