WASHINGTON – Extreme turbulence suffered by a plane left one elderly citizen dead as passengers of a Singapore-bound flight faced a nightmare.
The incident happened when a London to Singapore flight faced turbulence about 10 hours into the flight, leaving a 73-year-old man from Britain dead.
Meanwhile, dozens of flyers were injured aboard the Boeing 777-300ER operated by Singapore Airlines; the plane was diverted to Bangkok and landed at 3:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The plane was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members and had left Heathrow Airport on Monday.
The details shared by a hospital in Bangkok imply that 71 people, including passengers and crew members, were injured while six were in serious condition.
As far as the identities are concerned, four injured are from Britain, three from Malaysia, two from New Zealand and the United States, and one from Ireland and Spain while details of other flyers are still unknown.
Singapore’s Ministry of Transport said it was examining the incident and would send investigators to Bangkok; the Thai prime minister said his government would “assist with everything necessary for the injured.”
Although investigations are underway, the flight SQ321 encountered turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin over Myanmar, at 37,000 feet. Data available on the Flight Radar 24 website shows that the plane nosedived from 37,000 feet to an altitude of roughly 31,000 feet in only a few minutes.
