Singapore Airlines passenger killed after turbulence hits flight

Developments on this story have come thick and fast today, so let’s take a minute to recap everything we know about Singapore Airlines flight SQ321’s emergency landing in Thailand.

• Airport officials have confirmed a 73-year-old British man has died after suffering a possible heart attack and 30 people are being treated in hospital with seven travellers said to be in a critical condition
• Around 11 hours after take off from London, the Boeing 777 plane hit an air pocket and sharply dropped 6,000 feet in five minutes, unleashing mayhem in the cabin and forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok
• Terrified passengers described how they had little warning to strap on their seatbelts before the aircraft plummeted, with one recounting how people were ‘launched into the ceiling’ as the plane fell through the sky
• Pictures inside the cabin show ceiling fittings had been ripped apart and the pipework was exposed, while machinery was hanging from the galley where trolleys are stored
• The Boeing 777 plane operated by Singapore Airlines left the UK’s Heathrow airport on Monday evening at 22.17pm local time with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board

We will continue to provide updates throughout the afternoon.

Boeing has released the following statement after its 777 aircraft experienced severe turbulence during a flight from London to Singapore.

We can now bring you the statement issued by the general manager of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in which it was confirmed the passenger killed by extreme turbulence was a 73-year-old British man.

See the video below:

The passenger killed after extreme turbulence forced a Singapore Airlines flight into an emergency landing is a 73-year-old British man who suffered a possible heart attack, according to the head of Bangkok airport.

30 passengers are being treated in hospital with seven described as in a critical condition.

Singapore Airlines has confirmed 30 passengers are in hospital after flight SQ321 encountered extreme turbulence during a flight from London to Singapore.

In an update posted on its Facebook page, the airline said:

Singapore Airlines flight SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 20 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en-route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time.

We can confirm that there are multiple injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

As of 1950hrs Singapore time on 21 May 2024, 18 individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals. The remaining passengers and crew are being examined and given treatment, where necessary, at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.

There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.

Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time.

We are working with our colleagues and the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary assistance.

A Singapore Airlines team is on the way to Bangkok to provide any additional assistance needed.

The airline has set up a hotline for relatives seeking information at +65 6542 3311.

These pictures show the scale of the damage caused by extreme turbulence on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 which left one passenger dead and dozens reportedly injured.

Oxygen masks are seen draped from the overhead compartment amid reports passengers who were unbelted struck the ceiling, while debris is seen strewn across the cabin.

Chris Jewers reported how chaos was unleashed in the cabin when the Singapore Airlines plane dropped 6,000 feet in just five minutes as passengers described the extreme turbulence that killed a passenger on a flight travelling from the UK.

Read more here:

We can now show you photographs of passengers leaving Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 after it made an emergency landing in Bangkok.

The Boeing 777 plane left the UK on Monday evening at 22.17pm local time with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.

The plane was forced to divert to Thailand where it was met by ambulances who raced to the runway earlier today.

See the photographs below which were taken by a passenger on board the flight:

Ten passengers on board Singapoe Airlines flight SQ321 suffered serious injuries, according to a report in Thailand.

Khaosod English, an English language news outlet based in Bangkok, is reporting a third of passengers injured after the flight experienced severe turbulence are in a serious condition.

The website also states Thailand’s transport minister Suriya Juangrungruangkit has declared uninjured passengers are being taken care of by staff at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

According to the report, Singapore Airlines will send another plane from Changi Airport which will land in Bangkok tonight.

Pilots say there are two main types of turbulence.

The first is triggered by high winds near the ground and storms in low-level clouds, so it tends to hit in the first and last 30 minutes of a flight.

While the second is ‘clear air’ turbulence above the clouds, when high-level winds change pace without warning. While it can happen at any time it’s most common over mountain ranges and oceans such as the Atlantic and Pacific.

Research from the University of Reading showed the amount of turbulence in the sky has dramatically increased as a result of rising temperatures and changes to the jet stream.

Severe turbulence incidents rose 55 per cent between 1979 and 2020 and is expected to get more intense, more frequent and last longer in future.

Read more here:

Another Singapore Airlines passenger has given a terrifying account of what happened on board flight SQ321 following its emergency landing.

Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student, told Reuters news agency the plane began shaking before it suddenly plummeting.

Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,’ he 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.

Flight tracking data shows the plane was cruising at 37,000ft (11,280m) before it dropping 6,000ft (1,830m) in around three minutes.

A Singapore Airlines passenger has given us a glimpse of the horror on board flight SQ321 as he described how travellers were left ‘screaming in pain’ when they experienced extreme turbulence.

Andrew Davies, from Lewisham, London, wrote that he and other passengers who were not injured in the turbulence were currently waiting in a holding area at the airport.

According to Mr Davies, a man travelling with his wife on the flight has died.

He wrote on X:

I was on that flight and helped as much as I could. Those not injured (including me) are in a holding area at Bangkok airport. My heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life and his poor wife. Awful experience.

Lots of people injured – including the air stewards who were stoic and did everything they could. Bangkok emergency services quick to respond. Very little warning. The seatbelt sign came on, I put on my seatbelt straightaway then the plane just dropped.

Shouted for a defribulator. Passengers with medical training helping as much as they could. CPR on the poor gentleman that passed. Another passenger laid flat in aisle further behind me. Not sure what happened with them. Wish I could have helped more.

People’s belongings scattered, coffee and water splattered the ceiling. Surreal. So many injured people. Head lascerations, bleeding ears. A lady was screaming in pain with a bad back. I couldn’t help her – just got her water.

Sky News are reporting that Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 may have struck an air pocket before it made an emergency landing.

Sky’s Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch said it’s believed 30 people were injured when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence during a flight from London to Singapore.

There’s some suggestion the flight hit an air pocket before it had to make this emergency landing.There are some images circulating on social media that show parts of the plane inside and a lot of scattered debris.

Photos have been posted on social media by accounts claiming to show the aftermath of the emergency landing with debris strewn across the aircraft.

We can now bring you footage of emergency vehicles racing to a Singapore Airlines plane as it landed in Bangkok.

Flight SQ321 was forced to make an emergency landing after the aircraft was hit by severe turbulence.

See the video below:

Singapore’s transport minister Chee Hong Tat has said his government would help passengers affected by severe turbulence on flight SQ321 which left one passenger dead and others injured.

He said in a statement on his Facebook page:

I am deeply saddened to learn about the incident onboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore.

The plane had encountered severe turbulence en-route and had to be diverted to Bangkok. Singapore Airlines has confirmed that there are injuries and one fatality on board.

Ministry of Transport, Singapore, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport officials as well as SIA staff are providing support to the affected passengers and their families.

My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.

While details are yet to emerge as to what exactly happened on flight SQ321, there is no suggestion the incident was the fault of the Boeing 777 aircraft.

But it does mark the latest scare involving a Boeing-manufactured aircraft in recent weeks. Questions over safety have plagued the manufacturer ever since a door plug blew out of a 737 Max on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

The safety crisis at Boeing has led to aircraft shortages, which could cause a wave of cancellations this summer as Britons prepare for their holiday getaways.

This has not been helped by a string of incidents involving Boeing planes, with May seeing at least four – with three coming in just two days.

• May 9 – a Boeing plane’s tyre burst on the runway after landing
• May 9 – Terrified passengers flee a burning Boeing 737-300 jet that skidded off the runway and caught fire in Senegal
• May 8 – FedEx plane makes emergency landing at Istanbul Airport, with video showing its nose skidding along the runway
• May 16 – Boeing 747-400 jet forced into emergency landing in Indonesia after flames seen shooting from back of aircraft

We can you now show you flight tracking data showing how Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 was forced to divert to Bangkok in an emergency landing.

Data obtained by Sky News shows the plane was cruising at 37,000ft (11,280m) before it dropped 6,000ft (1,830m) in around three minutes.

See the video below:

These photographs show emergency vehicles surrounding the flight at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok following the emergency landing.

Singapore Airlines released the following statement on its Facebook page after flight SQ321 landed at Bangkok in an emergency diversion.

Singapore Airlines flight #SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 20 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en-route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time on 21 May 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

We will provide regular updates on our Facebook and X accounts

As we endeavour to bring you the latest updates on this developing news story, let’s recap what we know so far.

• A passenger was killed and others injured on a flight from London to Singapore this afternoon which was forced to make an emergency landing in Thailand.
• The Boeing 777 plane operated by Singapore Airlines left the UK on Monday evening at 22.17pm local time with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board
• However, flight SQ321 experienced severe turbulence while entering airspace currently experiencing extreme tropical thunderstorms
• The plane – registered 9V-SWM – was diverted to the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok where it made an emergency landing at 15.45pm local time
• It had been scheduled to land at the Singapore Changi Airport at 6.10pm local time

We will provide you updates as and when we get them.

Our reporter Chris Jewers has the breaking news story after it emerged a passenger on a flight from London to Singapore was killed after severe turbulence.

Read his story here:

MailOnline will provide live updates after it emerged a Singapore Airlines passenger was killed after a flight was hit by extreme turbulence earlier today.

It has been reported that 30 travellers were injured on the Boeing 777 plane that left London on Monday night.

We will bring you the latest news and reaction to this breaking news story.