A passenger died and several others were injured during a Singapore Airlines flight, which experienced “severe turbulence” during its journey from London to Singapore and which had to be redirected on Tuesday, May 21, to Bangkok, a announced the company.
The victim is a 73-year-old British man, according to the Associated Press citing Thai authorities. Of the “211 passengers and 18 crew members” on board the Boieng 777-300ER, thirty people were transported to hospital and twelve of them required treatment, the company said.
Flight SQ321 took off from London’s Heathrow Airport and encountered “severe turbulence” en route, Singapore Airlines added. The plane diverted to Bangkok and landed at 3:45 p.m. local time (10:45 a.m. Paris) on Tuesday at Suvarnabhumi Airport, where ambulances rushed to the plane, sirens blaring and flashing lights flashing .
“At 3:35 p.m., the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight indicating that there were passengers on board injured by turbulence and requesting an emergency landing,” the Singapore International Airport said. Bangkok in a press release.
Singapore investigators sent to Bangkok
This is the latest incident involving a Boeing aircraft, following the fuselage panel explosion of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in January and two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. “We present our deepest apologies for the traumatic experience experienced by our passengers and crew members on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult period,” the airline assured.
Flight tracking data indicates the plane fell more than 6,000 feet in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea. The incident occurred as parts of Thailand were hit by thunderstorms at the start of the rainy season. Singapore announced it was sending investigators to Bangkok.
The airport statement described the deceased passenger as a “foreigner,” meaning a non-Thai. Singapore’s Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident and offered his condolences to the deceased’s family.
The American aviation giant Boeing, which expressed its condolences, is shaken by multiple crises linked to production and quality control problems. It announced in March the departure of its CEO, Dave Calhoun, at the end of the year and has in recent months been the subject of increased attention from authorities, regulators and the courts.