A British man who died in severe turbulence on a flight from London to Singapore has been named as Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen.
Police confirmed that Kitchen, a 73-year-old retired insurance professional turned amateur dramatics performer, died after suffering a heart attack in severe turbulence that also left his wife and scores of others injured after the plane fell into an air pocket while cabin crew were serving breakfast
Passengers and the crew have described being flung around the cabin, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
Here are the key developments from today:
- Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 hit sudden turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar about 10 hours into the flight.
- The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok – though it was not clear when the medical emergency was declared
- 211 passengers and 18 crew were on board the Boeing 777-300ER
- Suvarnabhumi airport said the plane requested an emergency landing at 3:35 p.m. local time (0835 GMT) and landed at 3:51 p.
- Photographs from inside the plane showed large gashes in the overhead cabin panels, gas masks and panels hanging from the ceiling and items of hand luggage strewn around.
- One passenger said some people’s heads had slammed into the lights above the seats and punctured the panels.
- The airline has issued an apology for the “traumatic experience”
- The airline said 18 people were hospitalised and 12 were in hospitals. Samitivej Hospital said it was treating 71 passengers. Seven were critical, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn said.
- A spokesperson for FlightRadar 24 said it was analysing data at around 0749 GMT which showed the plane tilting upwards and return to its cruising altitude over the space of a minute.
- Initial reports pointed to a descent from 37,000ft to 31,000ft, though it now appears that was likely a flight level change in preparation for landing.
source: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/live/singapore-airlines-latest-death-flight-london
