Thailand: Horror on Singapore Airlines flight, turbulence kills passenger

A Singapore Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence, killing one person and injuring several others, and was forced to make an emergency landing in Thailand.

The Boeing 777 departed London Heathrow Airport, UK, at 10:38 pm on Monday, May 20, with 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board.

Flight SQ321 quickly crossed the English Channel and Europe towards Singapore, but encountered severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.

The plane descended 6,000 feet (about 1,800 meters) in about three minutes, the company announced on Tuesday, May 21.

The rapid descent caused the death of a British man, Geoffrey Kitchen, and 39 passengers and crew members were injured.

Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, was a director of Gloucestershire Musical Theatre, taking a six-week holiday with his wife Linda.

Authorities said the Briton may have suffered a heart attack, but this has not been confirmed.

The flight was then diverted and landed in Bangkok in stormy weather.

Testimonies of the descent into hell

A Singapore Airlines flight attendant was photographed with her face covered in blood after the plane crashed.

At around 3:30 p.m. local time, the plane suddenly lurched when it hit an area of ​​severe turbulence while flying through an area of ​​severe thunderstorms in the skies above Myanmar.

Some passengers reported realizing the plane had begun to tilt upwards, the fuselage shaking from the external conditions, although this was slight enough that not all passengers noticed.

It is claimed that the seat belt sign was not lit and that some people were still standing in the aisle, with one passenger even reportedly in the restroom.

Others claimed the signal was activated, but only moments before the plan was thrown into chaos when the plane plummeted without warning.

Passengers who were not wearing seat belts or who were unlucky enough to be standing at the time were thrown towards the cabin ceiling with horrific force.

Luggage clattered from overhead compartments, hitting the heads of people below, while loose items such as water bottles, food trays and cutlery flew like missiles.

As the pilots struggled to regain control of the plane, oxygen masks fell from the overhead compartments onto the laps of terrified passengers.

The plane fell several hundred feet in 90 seconds.

Bones were broken, blood was left smeared on light fixtures, while the wounded were left lying on the ground.

The scene resembled a war zone: a woman was seen screaming in pain, while other passengers were left with head injuries and bleeding ears.

A British traveler said there was no warning and he then "hit the ceiling" while his son remained slumped on the floor two rows behind him.

A person in the cramped toilet was seriously injured, while the cabin crew was also unable to escape.

They were checking passengers to ensure they were obeying the seat belt sign when the crash occurred.

A flight attendant was seen with a red mark on her face, while a coworker was disheveled and in extreme pain.

Amid the chaos, Mr. Kitchen, who had been so eagerly awaiting his vacation, collapsed after suffering a heart attack.

The damage wasn't limited to people: photos showed personal belongings strewn across the floor, while the ceiling of part of the cabin had completely collapsed, leaving cables, pipes and debris exposed.

????BREAKING: Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 flight SQ321 from London to Singapore dropped about 6000 feet due to an air pocket & severe turbulence. 1 Passenger has died and over 30 injured pic.twitter.com/wJrcGlSoSf

— AJ Huber (@Huberton) May 21, 2024

Victims treated in Bangkok

Thai rescuers quickly attended to the injured.

Emergency medical teams rushed to help the passengers.

Kittipong Kittikachorn, director general of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said at a press conference Tuesday evening that the Briton appeared to have suffered a heart attack, but that medical authorities had yet to confirm it.

He added that seven passengers were seriously injured, and 23 passengers and nine crew members had what he described as moderate injuries.

Ambulances have arrived urgently to transport injured passengers from the Singapore Airlines flight.

Sixteen other people with less serious injuries were treated in hospital, while 14 others were treated at the airport, according to Mr. Kittipong.

He explained that the sudden descent occurred while passengers were being served their meals.

"This is the first time that Suvarnabhumi Airport has experienced a death related to in-flight turbulence," he added.

Thai airport authorities said passengers with minor injuries and those without are being assisted at a designated area inside the airport terminal.

An investigation will be opened

Condition of the aircraft interior after the emergency landing in Thailand.

Thai Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungruangkit said Singapore was sending another plane to transport those who could to the city-state's Changi Airport.

Boeing, the manufacturer of the Singapore Airlines plane that encountered turbulence, offered its condolences to the family of the deceased man and said it was "in contact with Singapore Airlines regarding flight SQ321 and stands ready to support them."

The Boeing 777 is a large aircraft in the aviation industry, used primarily for long-haul flights by airlines around the world.

The 777-300ER variant of this twin-engine, twin-aisle aircraft is larger and can carry more passengers than previous models.

Singapore Airlines, the city-state's national carrier, operates 22 of these aircraft as part of its fleet of more than 140 planes.

The airline's parent company is majority-owned by Singapore's government-owned investment conglomerate Temasek, and also operates the low-cost airline Scoot.

Singapore's Transport Minister, Chee Hong Tat, also offered his condolences on his Facebook page.

The ministry's Transportation Safety Investigation Bureau said it was investigating the incident, was in contact with its Thai counterpart and would deploy investigators to Bangkok.

Singapore Airlines said the passengers' nationalities were:

56 Australians, two Canadians, one German, three Indians, two Indonesians, one Icelander, four Irish, one Israeli, 16 Malaysians, two Myanmarese, 23 New Zealanders, five Filipinos, 41 Singaporeans, one South Korean, two Spaniards, 47 British and four Americans.

See also:

Turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight: Is it due to climate change?

Rat and otter cause panic on flight from Thailand

Passenger vomits liters of blood and dies on Bangkok-Munich flight

Panic in flight in Thailand after portable charger explodes

Panic on plane in Thailand: Engine explodes in mid-flight

Source: The Nation Thailand , Mail Online