Geoff Kitchen, 73, who had coronary artery disease, died of cardiac failure triggered by severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight in May 2024, an inquest concluded
A British passenger died from a fatal cardiac arrest when his aircraft hit severe turbulence, an inquest has been told.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, south Gloucestershire, was aboard a Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Singapore on May 21 in 2024. Avon Coroners’ Court was told Mr Kitchen was sitting beside his wife Linda when the Boeing 777 aircraft struck severe turbulence while approaching the south western area of Myanmar.
The aircraft was redirected to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, where Mr Kitchen was declared dead. His wife, who sustained serious injuries, was rushed to hospital alongside dozens of other passengers.
Dr Peter Harrowing, assistant coroner for Avon, delivered a narrative conclusion following Wednesday’s hearing into Mr Kitchen’s death.
“On the morning of 21 May 2024, Geoff Kitchen, who had a history of coronary artery disease, was a passenger on a commercial flight from London to Singapore,” Dr Harrowing said. “It encountered severe turbulence. Mr Kitchen was thrown from his seat and landed on an adjacent passenger.
“He was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The aircraft was diverted and landed at an airport in Bangkok, where Mr Kitchen was confirmed deceased. Geoff Kitchen died of cardiac failure as a result of the aircraft he was a passenger on encountering severe turbulence.”
Mr Kitchen, a retired insurance professional, and his wife, a former careers adviser, had departed from Heathrow airport for a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
In a statement read out at the inquest, Mrs Kitchen, aged 74, recounted how she had been seated in her allocated seat and wearing her seatbelt when the incident occurred.
She explained that her husband had been engrossed in a podcast when she started to feel turbulence, followed by a “huge drop or lunge” and she experienced “incredible pain”.
“I realised my husband was pressing me to the side and that’s what caused the injury to my back,” she informed the hearing. “I carried on screaming. Eventually, two passengers lifted my husband off me. He was unconscious. I was in a lot of pain.”
Mrs Kitchen described how she was “bleeding profusely” from a head wound and was moved across the aisle by fellow passengers. “My husband was moved to the front of the section and placed on the floor,” she stated. “Many people helped to give my husband CPR.
“No-one told me that my husband had died. After landing, I was placed on a red stretcher.” Mrs Kitchen was not made aware of her husband’s death until two days later. She spent 10 days in hospital before being airlifted back to Bristol, where she spent an additional week in hospital.
An initial post-mortem examination in Thailand determined that Mr Kitchen had passed away from congestive heart failure. The inquest was informed that he had undergone a procedure to fit stents to his right coronary artery in April 2019. However, a review in October that year found he had returned to “normal exercise capacity”, a statement from his GP said.
Dr Edward Sheffield, a consultant pathologist, performed a post mortem on Mr Kitchen’s body in Bristol. He gave the cause of death as cardiac failure due to coronary artery atheroma and the physiological effects of aeroplane turbulence.
A report into the incident, which Dr Harrowing partially read, said 56 people had been seriously injured, 23 had received minor injuries and one person, Mr Kitchen, had died.
“The aircraft was cruising at 37,000ft when it was approaching the west coast of south-western Myanmar,” Dr Harrowing read. “At 7.49am, the aircraft flew past a waypoint when the aircraft experienced severe turbulence. By 7.53am, the aircraft had stabilised.”
The crew reported the severe turbulence, with a Mayday call made at 8.01am along with a request to divert to Bangkok. At 8.45am, the plane landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport, where it was met by medical personnel. Mr Kitchen was pronounced dead.
The coroner said: “I am satisfied that it was the physiological effect of the aircraft turbulence which precipitated the cardiac arrest and ultimately Geoff’s demise.”
Mrs Kitchen – who sustained spinal fractures in the incident – has instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, which has issued High Court proceedings for damages against Singapore Airlines. In a statement issued through the legal firm, she outlined how “absolutely devastating” her husband’s passing had been for her and the pair’s two children and four grandchildren.
“Losing Geoff was a crushing blow to the whole family as we all thought he would be around to see his grandchildren grow up,” she said. “We had a happy and fulfilled marriage and now I’ve lost my soulmate.”
Anthe Korelidou, the specialist aviation solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, said the ordeal experienced by Mrs Kitchen and fellow passengers during the flight was “extremely traumatic”.
“While it’s more than two years since Geoff’s death, Linda and the rest of her family continue to have a number of questions and concerns about what happened and if more could have been done to prevent their injuries,” she said.
“All Linda wants is for the most thorough investigations to be conducted. The issuing of High Court proceedings is a major milestone in being able to provide Geoff’s loved ones with the answers they deserve.”
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