A Singapore Airlines flight carrying more than over 200 passengers including 23 Kiwis hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6000ft (around 1800 metres) in about three minutes, the carrier has said.
A British man died and authorities said dozens of passengers were injured, including two New Zealanders who were hospitalised.
The Singapore Airlines service SQ321 also operates in a code share agreement with Air New Zealand under the flight number NZ3321. An Air New Zealand spokesperson said 10 passengers were booked on board the flight through the agreement.
“Air New Zealand has contacted the 10 passengers, and we are in the process of rebooking them onto alternative flights,” the spokesperson said.
Geoffery Ralph Kitchen, 73, has been named as the British man who died. He is believed to have suffered a heart attack. According to the UK’s Daily Telegraph, Kitchen was travelling with his wife of more than 50 years, Linda. She is in hospital.
Kitchen’s Thornbury Musical Theatre Group said “he was a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity and always did what was right for the group.”
The Singapore Airlines Boeing 777, which departed from London’s Heathrow airport for Singapore with 211 passengers and 18 crew members aboard, was diverted and landed in stormy weather in Bangkok.
An earlier statement from the airline posted on social media listed the nationalities of those on board as follows: 56 from Australia, 23 from New Zealand, 2 from Canada, 1 from Germany, 3 from India, 2 from Indonesia, 1 from Iceland, 4 from Ireland, 1 from Israel, 16 from Malaysia, 2 from Myanmar, 5 from the Philippines, 41 from Singapore, 1 from South Korea, 2 from Spain, 47 from the United Kingdom and 4 from the United States.
Singapore Airlines confirmed there were multiple injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
A later statement from the airline said 131 passengers had been flown to Singapore on a relief flight, while another 79 passengers and six crew remembers remained in Bangkok.
Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong said: “On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased passenger”.
”We also deeply apologise for the trauma experienced by all passengers and crew members on this flight. We are providing all possible assistance and support to them, along with their families and loved ones, during this difficult time. The wellbeing of our passengers and staff is our utmost priority.”
Aftermath of Singapore Airlines flight 321 from London to Singapore which had to divert to Bangkok due to severe turbulence. One death passenger and several injured. Blood everywhere, destroyed cabin. #singaporeairlines #sq321 pic.twitter.com/C2FgrVt9yv
— Josh Cahill (@gotravelyourway) May 21, 2024
British passenger Andrew Davies told Sky News the seatbelt sign was illuminated but crew members didn’t have time to take their seats.
“Every single cabin crew person I saw was injured in some way or another, maybe with a gash on their head,” Davies said. “One had a bad back, who was in obvious pain.”
Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on the flight, told ABC News: “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.”
Kittipong Kittikachorn, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, told a news conference the sudden descent occurred as passengers were being served food.
He said seven passengers were severely injured, and 23 passengers and nine crew members had moderate injuries. Sixteen with less serious injuries received hospital treatment and 14 were treated at the airport. He said the British man appeared to have had a heart attack but medical authorities would need to confirm that.
A later statement from Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital said 71 people had been treated there, including six who were severely injured. No explanation of the discrepancy was available.
“There were no fatalities among those sent to the hospital and no deaths at the hospital.”
The statement also confirmed two New Zealanders were among the injured taken to hospital.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said they are aware of reports New Zealanders were involved in the Singapore Airlines incident.
“We are seeking further information but have not received any requests for consular assistance.”
Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 and analysed by the Associated Press show the Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 cruising at an altitude of 37,000ft.
At one point, the Boeing 777-300ER suddenly and sharply descended to 31,000ft over about three minutes, according to the data. The aircraft then stayed at 31,000ft for under 10 minutes before diverting and landing in Bangkok less than a half-hour later.
The sharp descent occurred as the flight was over the Andaman Sea, near Myanmar. The aircraft sent a “squawk code” of 7700 at that time, an international emergency signal.
We have finished processing granular ADS-B data sent by #SQ321. Data indicates the turbulence event occurred at 07:49 UTC. https://t.co/8taJrD7JVB pic.twitter.com/tOM6hG2zjc
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) May 21, 2024
Details of the weather weren’t immediately available.
Most people associate turbulence with heavy storms, but the most dangerous type is so-called clear air turbulence. Wind shear can occur in wispy cirrus clouds or even in clear air near thunderstorms, as differences in temperature and pressure create powerful currents of fast-moving air.
The problem of turbulence was highlighted in December, when a total of 41 people on two separate flights hit by turbulence in the United States were hurt or received medical treatment on two consecutive days.
According to a 2021 report by the US National Transportation Safety Board, turbulence accounted for 37.6 per cent of all accidents on larger commercial airlines between 2009 and 2018. The Federal Aviation Administration, another US government agency, said after the December incidents that there were 146 serious injuries from turbulence from 2009 to 2021.
Boeing extended condolences to the family of the dead man and said it was in contact with Singapore Airlines “and stand ready to support them”. The wide-body Boeing 777 is a workhorse of the aviation industry, used mainly for long-haul flights by airlines around the world. The 777-300ER variant of the twin-engine, two-aisle plane is larger and can carry more passengers than earlier models.
Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s flag carrier, operates 22 of the aircraft as part of its fleet of more than 140 planes. The airline’s parent company is majority-owned by Singapore’s Temasek government investment conglomerate and also operates the budget airline Scoot.
Thailand’s Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungruangkit said Singapore was dispatching another plane to transport those who could travel. It arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday night (local time).
Singapore Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat in a Facebook post said his ministry and Singapore’s Foreign Ministry, as well as the country’s Civil Aviation Authority and Changi Airport officials along with airline staff, “are providing support to the affected passengers and their families”.
The ministry’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau said it was in touch with its Thai counterpart and would deploy investigators to Bangkok.
– with Associated Press
