One dead after “extreme turbulence” on a Singapore Airlines flight

A 73-year-old British man died and dozens of people were injured after a plane encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” about 10 hours into a flight from London to Singapore, officials said Tuesday.

The plane, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER, was diverted to Bangkok, the airline said in a statement, and landed at 3:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

A total of 71 people, including passengers and crew members, were injured, a hospital in Bangkok said. Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital said that of the 71 people on the flight being treated in its medical network, six were seriously injured. Four of the injured were from Great Britain, three from Malaysia, two from New Zealand and one each from Ireland, Spain and the United States. The nationality of the other victims was not known.

The remaining passengers and crew were examined and treated at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, the airline said. On Tuesday, Singapore’s transport ministry said it was investigating the incident and would send investigators to Bangkok Thai Prime Minister said his government would “help with whatever is necessary for the injured.”

The man died on board the flight, said Kittipong Kittikachorn, the director of Bangkok airport, without identifying him by name or giving a cause of death. The man’s wife was injured and taken to hospital, Mr Kittipong said.

The average flight time on this route is just under 13 hours. Mr Kittipong told a news conference that he boarded the plane after landing and described the scene as “chaos”.

Flight SQ321 departed Heathrow at 10:38 p.m. local time on Monday with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board. The airline said it encountered turbulence at an altitude of 37,000 feet over the Irrawaddy Basin over Myanmar. Data on Flight Radar 24, a website that compiles public information about flights, appears to show that the flight climbed from 37,000 feet to an altitude of about 31,000 feet in just a few minutes about 10 hours later.

The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the flight to Bangkok.

About 100 uninjured passengers were expected to be flown to Singapore on Tuesday, Mr Kittipong said. He described it as being in a state of shock.

It is unclear what caused the episode. As the plane flew over Myanmar, satellite data showed a strong storm began to form and bubble into higher altitudes, suggesting the atmosphere in the region was becoming unstable. The plane was also heading toward other storms developing along Myanmar’s coast.

Deaths from turbulence are rare. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, 163 passengers and crew were seriously injured in turbulence on U.S.-registered aircraft between 2009 and 2022. In December 2022, 11 people were seriously injured in turbulence on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu.

Recent research suggests that turbulence is increasing and that climate change is a cause, particularly increased carbon dioxide emissions, which affect air currents.

José Alvarado, a pilot for Icelandic airline Play, said in his experience, clear-air turbulence, which most often occurs at high altitudes, can occur without warning. For this reason, he advises passengers: “Even if there is no turbulence, keep your seat belts fastened.”

Once, more than two decades ago, while working as a flight attendant, he experienced turbulence on a flight from Madrid to Buenos Aires so severe that he was thrown upward when the plane suddenly plummeted about 4,000 feet. His back and shoulder blades hit the ceiling of the cabin before he was thrown back down.

“I was just jumping up and down,” he said, adding that some passengers were also injured. He said he hasn’t experienced anything like it since.

Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s transport minister, said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the incident.”

Singapore Airlines expressed its condolences to the family of the person who died on the flight, adding: “We deeply apologize for the traumatic experience our passengers and crew members endured on this flight.”

Judson Jones And Jenny Gross contributed to reporting.