A Number of Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Flight Landing at Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. Four flight attendants were injured.

Emergency medical services said they evaluated a total of five people, and took three to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and headaches. Those affected ranged from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing turbulence, with experts indicating that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the representative noted, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

Last year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" rough air just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that currently occur worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.