Turbulence kills passenger on London – Singapore Flight

By
Sharon Petersen
713
May 21, 2024
Singapore Airllines

A Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore has diverted to Bangkok, Thailand after severe turbulence killed one passenger.

The flight departed from Heathrow Airport on Monday evening before hitting bad weather conditions over the Bay of Bengal with Thai media reporting that 30 people had been injured.

It is understood that the passenger who died was a British man aged 73.

Flight SQ321 of Singapore Airlines was carrying 211 passengers with 18 crew members.

According to AccuWeather’s Senior Director of Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin “Singapore Airlines Flight 321 was flying over the Ayeyarwady Region of Myanmar at about 37,000 feet when it encountered severe turbulence. A review of satellite and lightning data along the flight path clearly shows explosive thunderstorm development close to the flight path.

“Developing thunderstorms often have strong updrafts, a zone of upward moving air, that rises very rapidly, sometimes at more than 100 mph and can leave pilots will little time to react if it occurs directly in front of the plane. It’s possible the plane encountered a situation like this which thrust the plane up in altitude, causing a severe change in altitude in a short amount of time”

AccuWeather expert meteorologists say there is a history of planes encountering severe turbulence in similar situations. A Hawaiian Airlines flight in December 2022 encountered a cloud that shot up quickly in front of the plane leaving the crew with no time to avoid the updraft. Several injuries were reported on that Hawaiian Airlines flight.

“The radar on commercial planes that pilots use to navigate around thunderstorms can detect precipitation. When an updraft quickly develops, it is possible that precipitation has not yet formed in that part of the cloud, which means radar does not yet show precipitation, creating a false sense of security for pilots,” said DePodwin.

According to Australia’s Channel 9 Network Kittipong Kittikachorn, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, told a news conference that the British man appeared to have suffered a heart attack, but medical authorities would need to confirm that.

He said seven passengers were severely injured, and 23 passengers and nine crew members had moderate injuries. Sixteen with less serious injuries received hospital treatment and 14 were treated at the airport.

Singapore Airlines shared this on their X feed.

This image (which we have not verified) appears to show food strewn across the galley on the Singapore Airlines flight after the turbulence.

Source: https://twitter.com/Vinamralongani

READ: Severe turbulence has increased by 55% in 40 years.

Were you or anyone you know onboard this flight? Email [email protected]

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the passenger.

SUGGESTED READ: Most turbulent routes in 2023

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