One passenger died of a suspected heart attack and dozens were injured after flight SQ321, flying from London to Singapore, encountered what the airline described as sudden, extreme turbulence during the flight over Myanmar. The ministry said the investigation is still ongoing.
The Boeing 777-300ER plane with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board was diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing after the plane was hit by turbulence that threw passengers and crew around the cabin and knocked some into the ceiling.
“The aircraft experienced a rapid change in G (gravity) … This likely resulted in the occupants not wearing their seat belts and becoming airborne,” the ministry said in a statement, citing a report by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore. .
“The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within 4 seconds. This probably caused the occupants who were in the air to fall back down.
“The rapid changes in G over a duration of 4.6 seconds resulted in an altitude drop of 178 ft (54 m), from 37,362 ft to 37,184 ft. This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers,” it said report.
The report also said a pilot was heard shouting that the “fasten seat belt” sign had been turned on.
In its latest social media update yesterday, Singapore Airlines said 45 of the passengers on the flight were still in Bangkok, including 28 who were in hospital.