A passenger on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 warned cabin crew about severe turbulence moments before the aircraft plunged, causing one death and multiple injuries. The flight from London Heathrow to Singapore encountered sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar at 37,000 feet, about 10 hours into the journey.
Passengers described chaos as those not wearing seatbelts were thrown into the ceiling and across aisles. Breakfast service was underway, sending coffee and water flying. Andrew Davies, a passenger from London, said: 'The seatbelt sign came on, I put on my seatbelt straight away then the plane just dropped.' He reported head lacerations and bleeding ears among the injured.
Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, Gloucestershire, died in the incident. The retired insurance professional was travelling with his wife to Australia for a holiday. Thai authorities said he had a heart condition and likely suffered a heart attack. A total of 71 people were taken to hospital, including six with severe injuries, many with head trauma.
Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on board, said: 'Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.' The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted to Bangkok, landing at 3.45pm local time on Tuesday.
Teandra Tukhunen, 30, from Melbourne, was asleep when the turbulence hit. 'I woke up because of the turbulence... straight after that I was flung to the roof, before I even had time to put my seatbelt on,' she said. She praised the pilot, saying: 'We're alive, so that's all that matters in the end.'
Singapore Airlines confirmed the aircraft, a Boeing 777, carried 211 passengers and 18 crew. Most passengers were from Australia, Britain, New Zealand or Singapore. On Wednesday, 131 passengers and 12 crew arrived in Singapore on a relief flight. The airline expressed condolences and said it was cooperating with authorities.
