Several Injured as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics said they assessed five individuals, and transferred three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a key driver.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders indicated they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through unstable air generate more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that flying could become less smooth: warming trends and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.