A Number of Hurt as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured following a Delta Airlines flight originating in LA to Sydney was hit by rough air Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official told. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Local paramedics stated they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred three of them to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the most recent case of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that global warming is a significant contributor.

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

Paramedics said they received a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is growing more common - and often stronger.

Last year, 25 people were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual died and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a sum of over 35 million journeys that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet going through rough air masses exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.