Yahoo News 1 Dead and Several Injured After Flight from London to Singapore Hit by ‘Severe Turbulence’
The airline said there had been “one fatality” and “injuries” among the 211 passengers and 18 crew on board
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A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER aircraftOne person is dead and several others have been injured after a flight from London to SIngapore experienced severe turbulence.
Singapore Airlines shared in a statement on social media that its flight #SQ321 from London’s Heathrow Airport to Singapore on Monday, May 20 encountered “severe turbulence en-route.”
The airline said that the plane — a Boeing 777-300ER — was diverted to Bangkok and landed at around 3:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday, May 21. It noted that there had been “one fatality” and “injuries” among the 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” the airline continued in a statement. ”Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft.”
The airline said it is working with local authorities in Thailand to ”provide the necessary medical assistance” and will be sending a team to Bangkok to provide “additional assistance.”
Singapore Airlines did not say how the fatality occurred or how many people were injured in total. The airline also did not give a timeline of when the turbulence occurred and when the decision was made to divert the flight.
ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images
A Singapore Airlines plane lands at Singapore Changi AirportFollowing the airline's announcement, Singapore's Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat shared on social media that several Singapore authorities were providing “support to the affected passengers and their families.”
“I am deeply saddened to learn about the incident onboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore,” he said in a statement on Facebook. "My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased."
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), turbulence occurs when there is an irregular motion of the air resulting from eddies and vertical currents. During severe turbulence, there may be “large and abrupt changes in altitude and/or attitude” and the airplane may “momentarily be out of control.”
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The NWS noted that airplane occupants experiencing severe turbulence “will be forced violently against their seat belts.”
“Injuries from severe turbulence are relatively rare in the context of millions of flights operated,” aviation expert John Strickland told the BBC. “However, severe turbulence can be dramatic and lead to severe injuries or sadly in this case a fatality."
"It is not for nothing that airlines recommend keeping seat belts loosely fastened throughout a flight be it long or short," he added.
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