1 passenger dead, many hurt as Singapore Airlines flight encounters severe mid-air turbulence

NEW DELHI: A passenger died and many were injured when a Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777 headed from London to Singapore encountered “severe turbulence” enroute. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok, where it landed on Tuesday afternoon.

Confirming this, Singapore Airline said in a statement: “Flight SQ 321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on May 20, 2024, encountered severe turbulence en-route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 3.45 pm local time on May 21, 2024. We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.”

“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft. We are working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance, and sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional assistance needed,” the statement added.

The flight had taken off from Heathrow at 10.38 pm on May 21. It encountered severe turbulence, possibly near in the airspace of Myanmar or Thailand. According to website Skybrary, severe turbulence “is characterised by large, abrupt changes in attitude and altitude with large variations in airspeed. There may be brief periods where effective control of the aircraft is impossible. Loose objects may move around the cabin and damage to aircraft structures may occur.”

The pilots then decided to divert to Bangkok. Thai authorities kept emergency personnel and ambulances ready.

Passengers are advised to keep their seat belts on during flights as an aircraft can fly into turbulence at any time.

About two years back, a SpiceJet Mumbai-Durgapur flight encountered severe turbulence during descent at the destination that saw 14 passengers and three crew members getting injured. One of these passengers succumbed to his injuries two months after the incident.