Singapore Airlines CEO released a video apologizing for the “severe extreme turbulence” that caused their airline’s jet to plunge 6,000 feet, killing one passenger and injuring several others.
About 211 passengers and 18 crew members traveling from London to Singapore were cruising 37,000 feet in the air when the Boeing 777-300ER jet experienced turbulence on Tuesday, May 21. A 73-year-old man was killed during the incident, and many others were thrown around the cabin, leading to 104 people needing medical attention.
After the flight was forced to land in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok, 58 passengers were still hospitalized hours later, with 20 of them in the intensive care unit, according to BBC.
Singapore Airlines flight SG321 experienced “severe extreme turbulence” on Tuesday, May 21
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov via Pexels (Representational image)
The 73-year-old British man, who was killed during the incident, is suspected to have died from a heart attack.
"Yesterday, approximately 10 hours after departure, Singapore Airlines flight SQ321, operating from London Heathrow to Singapore, encountered sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at an altitude of 37,000 feet. The flight had 211 passengers and 18 crew members," CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a video released Wednesday, May 22.
"The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Bangkok, landing at 3:45 pm local time," he added.
It was about 10 hours into the 13-hour flight when the turbulence began
The airline’s top leader apologized, saying, “We are very sorry for the traumatic experience,” and he noted that 143 of the affected airline’s passengers and crew members were brought back in a relief flight.
"Another 79 passengers and six crew members are still in Bangkok. This includes the injured who are receiving medical treatment, as well as their families and loved ones who were on the flight," he added.
Passengers aboard SQ321 revealed that the plane journey was normal for the first 10 hours of the 13-hour flight until they were thousands of feet above the Indian Ocean and experienced turbulence due to thunderstorms.
A 73-year-old man, suspected to have had a heart attack, was killed during the incident, and a number of others were injured from being thrown around
“The flight was perfectly normal” at first, said passenger Andrew Davies.
The flyer was watching a movie when he saw the seat belt sign on, and he promptly followed the instructions.
“Thank goodness I did because within moments of doing that, all hell broke loose,” he told CNN.
“The plane just felt like it dropped. It probably only lasted a few seconds, but I remember vividly seeing shoes and iPads and iPhones and cushions and blankets and cutlery and plates and cups flying through the air and crashing to the ceiling. The gentleman next to me had a cup of coffee, which went straight all over me and up to the ceiling,” he continued.
Passengers recalled the harrowing moments and said some hit their heads on the ceiling
Fellow passenger Josh Silverstone said he woke up on the floor of the aircraft during the incident.
"I (...) didn't realise what happened. I must have got hit in the head somewhere. Lots of people hit their head. Everyone was bleeding," the 24-year-old from south London told Reuters.
"I saw people from across the aisle going completely horizontal, hitting the ceiling and landing back down in like really awkward positions. People, like, getting massive gashes in the head, concussions," another passenger aboard the flight, Dzafran Azmir, told the outlet.
Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong apologized in a video statement following the tragic incident
Jerry, who was also aboard the Singapore-bound flight, said the drop felt like they “fell off a cliff.”
"I ended up hitting my head on the ceiling and my wife did. Some poor people were walking around and ended up doing somersaults," the man from Reading in Berkshire told BBC. “It was absolutely terrible. And then suddenly it stopped and it was calm again and the staff did their best to tend to the injured people."