Turbulence causes injuries and fatality on Singapore Airlines flight from London

[66701GBRF]

Heavy turbulence has caused several injuries and a fatality on a flight from Heathrow to Bangkok.

One passenger has died and more have been injured after a Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow was hit by severe turbulence.

The plane was forced to divert from its destination to land in Bangkok, Thailand, earlier today.

In a statement shared to Facebook, Singapore Airlines said: “Singapore Airlines flight #SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 21 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en-route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time.

MSN

 

[westv]

I don't know the full circumstances but, when I fly, I always keep buckled up when it my seat. Obviously that doesn't help if going to the loo.

 

[Iskra]

Apparently the Aircraft dropped 1800m in a few minutes, so certainly more than just normal heavy turbulence. It does highlight the importance of wearing a seatbelt when seated, but if you just happen to be going to the toilet at a bad moment, or you are near a catering trolley, a loose heavy object or unseated steward(ess) you are still in danger.

Condolences to the deceased’s family and thoughts for those injured.

One person has died and more than 30 others were injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London that was hit by severe turbulence.

The Singapore-bound Boeing 777-300ER was diverted to Bangkok, making an emergency landing at 15:45 local time (08:45 GMT).

Flight tracking data suggests flight SQ 321 dropped 6,000 feet, external (1,800m) in a matter of minutes from its cruising altitude after crossing the Bay of Bengal.

The flight was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, the airline said in a statement. It offered its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased, who has yet to be named.

What happened on board the flight is still unclear. One passenger told Reuters news agency the aircraft suddenly started "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," 28-year-old student Dzafran Azmir 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."

The airline said 31 people who had been on board the plane had been taken to hospital.

"The remaining passengers and crew are being examined and given treatment where necessary at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok."

The statement added that the airline was working with Thai authorities to provide medical assistance to passengers, and was sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional help needed.

• Flight turbulence increasing as planet heats up - study

Thai authorities have despatched ambulances and emergency teams to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Singapore's Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the government would provide assistance to the passengers and their families.

"I am deeply saddened to learn about the incident onboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore," he posted in a statement on Facebook.

Turbulence is most commonly caused by aircraft flying through cloud but there is also "clear air" turbulence which is not visible on a jet's weather radar nor is it possible to predict.

“Injuries from severe turbulence are relatively rare in the context of millions of flights operated.

"However, severe turbulence can be dramatic and lead to severe injuries or sadly in this case a fatality," aviation expert John Strickland told the BBC.

Flight crews are also trained in how to respond to turbulence, he added.

"It is not for nothing that airlines recommend keeping seat belts loosely fastened throughout a flight be it long or short," he added.

Research has shown that climate change will make severe turbulence more likely in the future.

Singapore Airlines: One dead, several hurt in severe turbulence

Singapore Airlines says several others were hurt and the flight was diverted to Bangkok.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[AlterEgo]

The deceased apparently died of a heart attack, although whether this was following a traumatic injury is not yet clear.

 

[Scotrail314209]

From a former cabin crew POV:

Incidents like this (although rare) are the EXACT reason why we ask everyone to keep their seatbelts on regardless of whether the sign is on or off. When I flew it was remarkable how many people immediately unbuckled or kept on standing while the seatbelt sign was on.

Dropping 6,000 feet is extremely scary and I can only imagine how terrified everyone onboard must’ve been. My condolences go to the family. The latest update is that the amount of injuries has increased to 53, with seven people in critical condition.

Dozens injured during flight​

The news conference in Bangkok airport has finished, so let's bring you some updated figures on the number of people injured on the Singapore Airlines flight.
One man, a 73-year-old British national, has died, and likely suffered a heart attack, authorities say.
Seven people are in a critical condition following the severe turbulence.
In a previous post, we told you 23 passengers and nine crew members have been injured. The number of passengers injured is in fact much more, with 53 passengers hurt.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-69044396

 

[YorkRailFan]

Boeing has issued a statement:

We are in contact with Singapore Airlines regarding flight SQ321 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.

It's good to see Boeing taking the initiative here when it's not their fault. Turbulence impacts all aircraft, not just Boeing aircraft.

 

[Belperpete]

The pictures on the BBC are truly scary, with internal panels apparently ripped off. Not much you can do if something like that hits you. As I understand, such uncontrolled descents can happen with no warning if the plane hits a sudden change in pressure, so I always stay buckled up during a flight.

 

[dangie]

Absolutely terrible and terrifying for all those on board. Really a lesson for all who fly to take on board the keep seatbelt fastened advice.

Bearing in mind you can’t undo what’s happened, you can’t wind the clock back, what it does show is the strength and construction of passenger aircraft to withstand to these incidents.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Never had one that bad in all my years of flying thank goodness. Definitely scary. I concur with comments about always keeping seatbelts fastened. I certainly do with mine.

 

[HullRailMan]

It is scary - I remember a sudden drop during heavy turbulence over the Atlantic in a 747 and it was far from pleasant, not least because the crew were instructed to take everyone’s meals away!

Events like this just show what engineering marvels aircraft are, and the huge forces they are designed to withstand. The likelihood of turbulence at a high altitude bringing an aircraft down is beyond minuscule.

 

[edwin_m]

It does highlight the importance of wearing a seatbelt when seated, but if you just happen to be going to the toilet at a bad moment, or you are near a catering trolley, a loose heavy object or unseated steward(ess) you are still in danger.

At least people walking down the aisle will be awake and reasonably alert, so have some chance of being able to brace for impact. Unlike anyone who's asleep with no seatbelt.

 

[Irascible]

The pictures on the BBC are truly scary, with internal panels apparently ripped off. Not much you can do if something like that hits you. As I understand, such uncontrolled descents can happen with no warning if the plane hits a sudden change in pressure, so I always stay buckled up during a flight.

Yes - not just a pocket of low pressure that starts a fall, but you can hit a downwards stream of air & get forcibly accelerated downwards. CAT has brought more than one plane down completely in the past, although I'm not aware of anything sizeable in the last couple of decades.

I always wear a belt & make sure everything around me is stowed - someone else's clobber is probably going to hit me in the face, I'd rather my own didn't too...

 

[Mojo]

Apparently the Aircraft dropped 1800m in a few minutes, so certainly more than just normal heavy turbulence.

Dropping 6,000 feet is extremely scary and I can only imagine how terrified everyone onboard must’ve been.

Flightradar have said that the plane did not drop 1,800m (~6,000ft) and to suggest it did is a misunderstanding by the media of their data.

I note BBC have already removed the quoted line from their story.

x.com

x.com

 

[4COR]

Yes - not just a pocket of low pressure that starts a fall, but you can hit a downwards stream of air & get forcibly accelerated downwards. CAT has brought more than one plane down completely in the past, although I'm not aware of anything sizeable in the last couple of decades.

What does "CAT" stand for in this context?

 

[jfollows]

What does "CAT" stand for in this context?

Clear Air Turbulence

Clear-air turbulence - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Pilot rules​

When a pilot experiences CAT, a number of rules should be applied:[9]

• The aircraft must sustain the recommended velocity for turbulence.
• When following the jet stream to escape from the CAT, the aircraft must change altitude and/or heading.
• When the CAT arrives from one side of the airplane, the pilot must observe the thermometer to determine whether the aircraft is above or below the jet stream and then move away from the tropopause.
• When the CAT is associated with a sharp trough, the plane must go through the low-pressure region instead of around it.
• The pilot may issue a Pilot Report (PIREP), communicating position, altitude and severity of the turbulence to warn other aircraft entering the region.

 

[Sorcerer]

Given the amount of commercial flights that are happening every day and meeting turbulence on a regular basis, I think it really is a testament to the safety of air travel and the engineering of planes in general that something like this is so extraordinarily rare that it's become headline news, and yet the plane still managed to land safely with only one fatality. A car crash of the same scale wouldn't have even registered on most people's radar.

 

[YorkRailFan]

We have now received the FDR and CVR.

The Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence last week dropped 54 metres in altitude in less than five seconds, preliminary findings from an investigation show.

A 73-year-old British passenger died of a suspected heart attack and dozens of people were injured after flight SQ321 from London to Singapore encountered what the airline described as sudden, extreme turbulence while flying over Myanmar. The flight carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing.“The aircraft experienced a rapid change in G (gravitational force) … This likely resulted in the occupants who were not belted up to become airborne,” Singapore’s transport ministry said in a statement on a report by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau.

“The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within 4 seconds. This likely resulted in the occupants who were airborne to fall back down,” it said, citing information extracted from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.

“The rapid changes in G over the 4.6 seconds duration resulted in an altitude drop of 178ft (54m), from 37,362ft to 37,184ft. This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers.”Shaken passengers described scenes of chaos in the moments after the incident. The turbulence threw people upwards then into the aisle, leaving many with head wounds.

Photos of the cabin showed gashes in the overhead cabin panels, oxygen masks and panels hanging from the ceiling and luggage strewn around. One passenger said some people’s heads had slammed into lights above the seats and broken the panels.Singapore Airlines said it acknowledged the report and was cooperating fully with the investigation. “We are committed to supporting our passengers and crew members who were onboard SQ321 on that day, as well as their families and loved ones,” it said in a statement.

Late on Tuesday the airline said 45 people who were onboard the flight were still in Bangkok, including 28 passengers receiving medical treatment in hospital.

Among those initially hospitalised were patients with spinal cord injuries and some with brain and skull injuries, according to Thai medical officials.

The preliminary report said that upon the flight encountering slight vibrations there was an uncommanded increase in altitude, resulting in the autopilot pitching the aircraft downwards. There was an increase in airspeed and the pilots responded by applying speed brakes.“While managing the airspeed … it was heard that a pilot called out that the fasten seatbelt sign had been switched on,” it said.

The investigation team comprised Singaporean investigators, representatives from Boeing and US officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Singapore transport ministry said the probe was ongoing.

Singapore Airlines plane dropped 54 metres in seconds, flight data shows

Investigation report says aircraft ‘experienced a rapid change in gravitational force’ during turbulence

www.theguardian.com

Just to show how quickly the whole situation unfolded, the report notes that the pilots turned on the seat belt sign just 8 seconds before the aircraft plunged.

Singapore Airlines (SQ) has offered $10,000 compensation to those on SQ 321 and an advanced payment of $25,000 to those seriously injured.

Singapore Airlines has offered to pay compensation to those who were injured on a London to Singapore flight that encountered severe turbulence.

The airline said it will pay$10,000 (£7,800) to those who sustained minor injuries, in a Facebook post.

For passengers with more serious injuries, the airline is providing "an advance payment of $25,000 to address their immediate needs" and further discussions to meet "their specific circumstances".

Singapore Airlines turbulence victims offered thousands by firm

One British passenger died and dozens more were injured when flight SQ 321 encountered turbulence in May.

www.bbc.com

A very well handled incident by SQ who are not at fault in this incident.