A 73-year-old British man has gone to be with his maker after losing his life during a flight from London to Singapore.
Sky News earlier reported that the man died from a suspected heart attack after experiencing a sudden extreme turbulence during his flight.
Several travellers were injured during the unforeseen turbulence that saw people launched into the plane’s ceiling and overhead lockers.
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Pilots of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321, from Heathrow were forced to land the plane in Thailand in a bid to salvage the situation.
Media reports indicate that the plane left London on Monday, May 20, night but was diverted to Bangkok, where it landed on Tuesday, May 21, at 3.45pm.
Singapore Airlines told the media the pilot of the plane declared a medical emergency and unexpectedly landed in Bangkok after experiencing a sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Bassin at 37,000 feet about ten hours after its departure.
“Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening,” Dzafran Azmir, 28, a passenger on the flight described the chaos on board.
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“And very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelts was launched immediately into the ceiling. 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.” He added.
Another passenger, Briton Andrew Davies said the seatbelt sign came on, but there was no time for the crew of the plane to take their seats.
“Anyone who had a seatbelt on isn’t injured. Every single cabin crew person I saw was injured in some way or another, maybe with a gash on their head… One had a bad back, and was in obvious pain.” He disclosed.
Kittipong Kittikachorn, who is the head of Bangkok airport, told reporters that the deceased British man, 73, died from probable cardiac arrest.
Kittipong stated that it is believed the turbulence hit the aircraft while people were having breakfast and that an “air pocket” was to blame.
“Seventy-one people needed treatment and six of them had critical injuries,” Bangkok’s Smitivej Srinakarin Hospital said.
Singapore Airlines, however, contradicted police reports by disclosing that only 30 people had been taken to hospital following the incident.
Forty-seven Britons were among the 211 passengers and 18 crew onboard the Boeing 777-300ER plane.
According to flight tracking data, the plane was cruising at 37,000ft (11,280m) before dropping 6,000ft (1,830m) in around three minutes.
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A spokesperson for FlightRadar24 said the incident appeared to “just be a flight level change in preparation for landing”.
Ambulances surrounded the aircraft on the tarmac minutes after landing, with images from the scene showing some passengers taken away on stretchers.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” FlightRadar24 said in a statement.
“We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight.” The company’s statement added.
FlightRadar24 disclosed it is working with Thai authorities by “providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time”, including sending a special team to Bangkok to investigate the matter.
