British grandfather dies after ‘severe’ turbulence hits London to Singapore flight

A retired British grandfather was killed and around 70 people were injured after a flight from Heathrow to Singapore was hit by severe turbulence.

Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen, 73, and his wife Linda, were among 47 British passengers aboard the Singapore Airlines flight when it plunged around 6,000ft within minutes amid extreme weather.

Anna Proctor, Mr Kitchen’s daughter, paid tribute to her father describing him as an “extremely kind, loving and gentle man”.

She told The Telegraph her father was “a wonderful man and he had years ahead of him and obviously we are completely devastated, adding: “He was a legend, he was.”

Passengers described “awful screaming” as the aircraft suffered a “dramatic drop”, with objects flying and people not wearing seat belts “launched immediately into the ceiling”, causing multiple head injuries.

The Boeing 777 jet was forced to make an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where Thai authorities described responding to a “chaotic” scene.

Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of the airport, said Mr Kitchen, who has two adult children and two grandchildren, suffered a suspected heart attack.

Friends of Mr and Mrs Kitchen, who were married for more than 50 years, said the couple left their semi-detached home in the market town of Thornbury, Gloucestershire, on Monday for what was to be a six-week “holiday of a lifetime”.

Mr Kitchen was the trustee and the secretary of an award-winning musical theatre group near Bristol, and neighbours said both he and his wife were actively involved in the area’s amateur dramatics.

He had lived in the town for more than 30 years and stood last May in the Thornbury Town Council elections as an independent candidate for the North East Ward.

During his campaign, he described the area as “a good place to bring up a family” and pledged to support the arts, the environment and young people.

Mr Kitchen had suffered heart problems in recent years but kept active, neighbours said.

“They were very adventurous and had been planning the holiday for a long time. They spent last weekend with their grandchildren because they wouldn’t be seeing them for a while,” Steve Dimond, 73, a close friend and neighbour told the Daily Mail.

Mr Dimond and his wife Jill expressed concern for Mrs Kitchen, who was transferred to a nearby Thai hospital for treatment, and appeared to be unreachable. Her condition is unclear.

Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital said a total of 71 people had been admitted for treatment, six of them severely injured.

Along with the 47 Britons, there were 56 passengers from Australia, 41 from Singapore, 23 from New Zealand, 16 from Malaysia, five from the Philippines, four from Ireland, four from America, three from India, two from Canada, two from Indonesia, two from Spain,  two from Burma, one from Iceland, one from Germany, one from Israel and one from South Korea.

Singapore Airlines said it offered its “deepest condolences” to Mr Kitchen’s family.

“We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time,” the airline said.

The airline added it was “working with the relevant authorities” on the investigation into the incident.

Images posted on social media showed damage to the cabin’s ceiling, and food, cutlery and other debris strewn across the floor.

Cabin crew were serving breakfast when the aircraft, which was cruising at an altitude of roughly 37,000ft over the Irrawaddy Basin and around 10 hours into its journey, encountered turbulence.

Andrew Davies, from Lewisham, said fellow passengers received “very little warning” to put on their seat belts.

He described seeing many injured, some with head lacerations and bleeding ears. “A lady was screaming in pain with a bad back,” he said.

There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board Flight SQ321, which took off from London’s Heathrow Airport at 10.17pm on Monday.

The Boeing jet diverted to Bangkok around 90 minutes prior to its intended arrival in Singapore, making an emergency landing in the Thai capital at around 4pm local time.

One passenger said the plane was travelling smoothly when it suddenly plunged downwards.

“It was a long way, and so sudden. There was no warning at all,” Jerry, from the UK, told the BBC.

Jerry said he hit his head on the ceiling while others who were walking around “ended up doing somersaults. It was absolutely terrible.”

Mr Kittikachorn said: “We followed the protocol and went in and found lots of injuries and a fatality”.

Airport officials enacted an emergency action plan and “evacuated the passengers right away”, he said.

The airport’s medical team rushed to the tarmac and tended to the injured, with waiting ambulances transferring them to a local hospital for further treatment.

Around 100 passengers were preparing to board a new flight out of Bangkok on Tuesday.

Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on board the flight, described how the plane suddenly began “tilting up” and “shaking”.

“I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seat belt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” he said,

“Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it,” he said.

Mr Davies, a freelance project manager, described how passengers with medical training tried to help “as much as they could”, including administering CPR to Mr Kitchen.

“My heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life and his poor wife,” he said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live later, he said: “The thing I remember the most is seeing objects and things flying through the air.

“During the few seconds of the plane dropping there was an awful [lot of] screaming and what sounded like a thud.”

A pair of police officers were seen on Tuesday outside Mr Kitchen’s semi-detached home that he shared with his wife Linda.

Neighbours described Mr Kitchen as a “friendly bloke” who regularly busied himself with gardening and handiwork.

One couple, who lived on the same quiet cul-de-sac in Thornbury, south Gloucestershire, said: “They were very good neighbours, both he and his wife, always had a word to say if you went out and saw them anywhere.”

06:53 PM BST

Blog now closed - thanks for following

We are now closing the blog as it approaches 1am in Thailand. This is what we have learnt so far:

• One person died and dozens were injured after a flight from London to Singapore hit an area of severe turbulence over Myanmar

• The flight was forced to land in Bangkok where photos showed the scale of mess and upheavel inside the cabin

• A retired British grandfather has been named as the person who died when a Heathrow to Singapore flight was hit by severe turbulence. Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen, 73, suffered a suspected heart attack as the plane embarked on a “dramatic drop”, with those not wearing seatbelts “launched immediately into the ceiling”.

• Experts say such violent turbulence is rare and that seatbelts would have likely reduced the scale of the injuries

• Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau will be deploying investigators to Bangkok to look into the incident

• Singapore Airlines has offered its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased

• 47 passengers on board the flight were British

06:36 PM BST

British passenger recalls people doing ‘somersaults’ as plane plummeted

One passenger on board the flight said the plane was travelling smoothly when it suddenly plunged downwards.

“It was a long way, and so sudden. There was no warning at all,” Jerry, from the UK, told the BBC.

Jerry said he hit his head on the ceiling while others who were walking around “ended up doing somersaults.”

“My daughter will be in [hospital] for a few days. My wife I’m not so sure. But it could have been a lot worse,” he said.

06:20 PM BST

Watch: Passengers carried out by stretcher from diverted flight

Footage shows emergency services carrying passengers from the Singapore Airlines flight out by stretcher after it was forced to make an emergency landing.

Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital said a total of 71 people had been sent for treatment, six of them severely injured.

06:15 PM BST

Plane fell into air pocket before entering turbulence over Myanmar

The plane travelling from London to Singapore fell into an air pocket as the cabin were serving breakfast before entering an area of severe turbulence, the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn told a press conference.

The sudden turbulence occurred over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar about 10 hours into the flight, the airline said. The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok, it said without giving further details.

06:03 PM BST

Watch: Footage of the cabin after being hit by severe turbulence

Footage of the cabin after the plane landed shows a mess of food, bottles, bags and masks dangling from the overhead compartment.

One British man, Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen, died of a suspected heart attack during the chaos and dozens were injured.

05:46 PM BST

Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, who died of a suspected heart attack on the flight

05:38 PM BST

British man who died on flight named

The 73-year-old British man who died on board the London to Singapore flight has been named as Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen.

Kitchen was travelling with his wife of more than 50 years, Linda, when he was suspected of having a heart attack amid severe turbulence on the Singapore Airlines flight.

05:26 PM BST

Foreign office says it is in contact with authorities in Thailand

Following the news that a British man died on the flight from London to Singapore, a spokesperson for the foreign office has said: “We are responding to the emergency landing in Bangkok of a Singapore Airlines flight and are in contact with the local authorities”.

05:08 PM BST

Bangkok hospital says 71 people sent for treatment

Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital said a total of 71 people had been sent for treatment, six of them severely injured.

“We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time,” Singapore Airlines said.

05:06 PM BST

Airline analyst says few defences against such turbulence other than a seatbelt

Airline analyst John Strickand told the BBC that airlines have few measures to prevent such disasters except for ensuring passengers wear their seatbelts ahead of anticipated turbulence.

“There is no perfect way to respond.”

“We just need to ensure - as the industry does - that it uses the maximum amount of information available at the time so that - first of all - turbulence can be avoided where possible and so that crews react quickly,” he said.

04:39 PM BST

Majority of passengers onboard from Australia, followed by Britain

The majority of the 211 passengers onboard the flight from London to Singapore were from Australia followed by passengers from Britain, according to Singapore Airlines’ flight record.

There were also 18 crew members.

Here is a breakdown of the passenger list:

04:32 PM BST

Boeing offers condolences after turbulence fatality on its aircraft

Boeing expressed its condolences following a fatality on the Singapore Airlines flight.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew,” Boeing said after its 777 aircraft en route from London to Singapore made an emergency landing in Bangkok.

04:26 PM BST

Boeing 777 fell into air pocket before encountering severe turbulence

Just to recap following the press conference given by the general manger of Bangkok’s main airport, the Boeing 777 had fallen into an air pocket in Thai air space before it encountered severe turbulence.

One elderly British man has been killed, likely from a heart attack, though this has not been officially confirmed.

Seven people are critically hurt with head injuries.

04:16 PM BST

Singapore Airlines has released the nationalities of all 211 passengers on board

They are as follows:

• 56 from Australia

• 2 from Canada

• 1 from Germany

• 3 from India

• 2 from Indonesia

• 1 from Iceland

• 4 from Ireland

• 1 from Israel

• 16 from Malaysia

• 2 from Myanmar

• 23 from New Zealand

• 5 from the Philippines

• 41 from Singapore

• 1 from South Korea

• 2 from Spain

• 47 from the United Kingdom

• 4 from the United States of America

03:59 PM BST

Pictured: The aircraft’s last hour

We’ve tracked the flight’s final hour as it plummeted 6,000ft in five seconds before making its way to land in Bangkok.

One Singapore airlines crew told a passenger it was the worst turbulence she had experienced in her 3 years in the job.

03:53 PM BST

Singapore to send investigators to Bangkok after flight incident, says transport ministry

Singapore said it will send investigators to Bangkok after the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the Thai capital.

“The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) is in touch with its Thai counterparts and will be deploying investigators to Bangkok,” the transport ministry said in a statement.

03:48 PM BST

Thailand enters monsoon season after weeks of extreme heat

Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia have entered the monsoon season, when daily storms rage and rain falls in buckets.

It follows weeks of extreme heat that saw temperatures in Bangkok rise above 40c and 30 people die from heatstroke between January 1 and April 17. For the whole of 2023, 37 people died from heatstroke.

In the Philippines, schools were forced to suspend classes while worshippers in Bangladesh prayed for rain.

Speaking to the BBC, ex-pilot Terry Tozer said it is unusual for such turbulence to occur without any warning. Though in the Far East, sudden severe turbulence can occur at high altitude.

“That’s one of the reasons why we stress to wear your seatbelt even when the seatbelt sign is not illuminated.”

03:40 PM BST

Explained: The three main types of aviation turbulence

03:30 PM BST

Watch: Carnage inside the plane after it landed

03:23 PM BST

‘My heart goes out’ to man killed in accident, says fellow passenger

Andrew Davies from Lewisham who was on the London to Singapore flight said his “heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life.”

Mr Davies, who describes himself as a freelance project manager in events said passengers with medical training tried to help “as much as they could”, but that the “poor gentleman” died after receiving CPR.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Davies said: “Anyone who is injured, was not wearing a seatbelt. People who kept them on (including me) are not (as far as I could tell).”

He claimed the deceased was a man who was travelling with his wife.

“My heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life and his poor wife. Awful experience,” he said.

03:17 PM BST

Last time Singapore Airlines saw fatal accident

The last Singapore Airlines fatalities were in October 2000 when a plane crashed on a closed runway during takeoff at Taiwan and 83 people died.

Singapore Airlines has had seven accidents according to records by the Aviation Safety Network.

03:15 PM BST

Pictured: The interior of the plane

03:10 PM BST

Here are more details released by Suvarnabhumi Airport:

The airport says it has activated an emergency plan to provide medical services for passengers on board Flight SQ321.

The flight, which was travelling from London’s Heathrow Airport to Singapore, was diverted to Bangkok due to bad weather and touched down at 15.51 p.m. local time on Tuesday at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The airport said its medical team rushed to the tarmac and tended to those injured before transporting them to hospitals for further treatment.

“For passengers with minor injuries or no injuries, the Suvarnabhumi Airport has set up a waiting area for passengers inside the concourse with personnel from the airport and SIA working together to take care of and facilitate passengers” to help them reach Singapore.

There were 211 passengers and 18 crew members on the flight.

The airport confirmed that one person died and a number of those onboard were injured.

03:05 PM BST

Turbulence severe across the region

Singapore Airlines is yet to comment on what caused the turbulence, but the area around Thailand is currently suffering severe tropical storms.

Current aviation weather reports indicate thunderstorms reaching up to 51,000ft are spread across western Thailand and well down into the Gulf of Thailand, a distance of around 475 miles.

Last week, a British Airways flight was forced to return to Singapore after encountering heavy turbulence.

One crew member reportedly needed surgery to her ankle after she was injured during the flight.

The Singapore Airlines flight was cruising at 37,000ft before its diversion, according to Flight Radar 24 data.

02:58 PM BST

The flight path

Flight SQ321 took off from London Heathrow Airport on Monday evening at 22.17 local time, flight tracking data showed.

The airliner diverted to Thailand around an hour and a half’s flying time from its intended destination of Singapore after reportedly encountering heavy turbulence.

The pilots requested permission to make an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok and touched down shortly after 4pm local time.

02:52 PM BST

Singapore Airlines offers ‘deepest condolences’

A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines said: “We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.

“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.”

02:47 PM BST

Plane took 90 minutes to evacuate, says passenger

It took 90 minutes to evacuate the plane, said one passenger.

Malaysian student Dzafran Azmir said he had fastened his seatbelt but many had not when the plane began to shake.

The 28-year-old  said ambulances later arrived and he saw at least 8 people on stretchers being pulled out of the emergency exits. It took 90 minutes to evacuate the plane, he said

02:44 PM BST

Pictured: Scenes in Bangkok after the emergency landing

02:41 PM BST

Passengers were about to be served breakfast when turbulence hit

The general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport said passengers were likely about to eat breakfast when they were buffeted by turbulence.

“[The crew] probably were serving breakfast because it would take another 2 - 3 hours to reach Changi airport [in Singapore],” Kittipong Kittikachorn said.

02:35 PM BST

British man killed and 30 injured, say Thai authorities

A British man was killed and 30 injured when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 plane hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thai authorities said in a press conference.

02:34 PM BST

We received little warning, says passenger on flight

Andrew Davies from Lewisham wrote on social media that he was on the flight and that passengers received “very little warning” to put on their seatbelts.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Davies said: “Anyone who is injured, was not wearing a seatbelt. People who kept them on (including me) are not (as far as I could tell).”

He claimed the deceased was a man who was travelling with his wife.

“My heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life and his poor wife. Awful experience,” he said.

Mr Davies, who describes himself as a freelance project manager in events and conferences said passengers with medical training tried to help “as much as they could”, adding that the “poor gentlemen” died after receiving CPR.

He went on to say he saw another passenger “laid flat in (the) aisle further behind me”.

Mr Davies described “people’s belongings scattered, coffee and water splattered the ceiling.”

“So many injured people. Head lacerations (sic), bleeding ears. A lady was screaming in pain with a bad back. I couldn’t help her - just got her water.”

02:31 PM BST

If passengers were stapped in they should have been OK, says Tozer

“If you’re not strapped in and you’re standing then obviously if the aircraft drops suddenly you can hit the ceiling.”

02:28 PM BST

Tozer stresses importance of wearing seatbelt

In the far east you get sudden severe turbulence at high altitude, the ex-pilot added

“That’s one of the reasons why we stress to wear your seatbelt even when the seatbelt sign is not illuminated.”

02:26 PM BST

Ex-airline pilot says such sudden turbulence is uncommon

Terry Tozer, an ex-airline pilot, has told the BBC it is unusual for turbulence to occur without any warning.

“It is not that common for it to happen without any warning. Normally the crew would be passed information by aircraft ahead of them,” he said.

02:19 PM BST

An update on number injured from the GM of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport

Kittipong Kittikachorn, General Manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport said: “Seven people are crucially injured. Twenty-three people are moderately injured, including a crew member. Sixteen people are slightly injured and were sent to hospital. Fourteen people are also slightly injured and are in the holding area”.

02:16 PM BST

Singapore president says ‘hope and pray’ injured flight passengers recover

Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that “we must hope and pray” for the smooth recovery of 30 people injured in a turbulence-affected Singapore Airlines flight, which killed one person.

The airline’s Boeing 777 plane hit severe turbulence en-route to Singapore from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.

“My deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” Mr Shanmugaratnam said on Facebook.

02:11 PM BST

Pictured: The chaos inside the plane after the emergency landing

02:09 PM BST

Plane dropped 6,000ft in five minutes

Flight tracking data suggested the plane dropped more than 6,000ft in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea.

The incident came as parts of Thailand were buffeted by thunderstorms as the country’s annual rainy season gets under way.

“At 3:35 pm the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence, and requesting an emergency landing,” Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement.

02:05 PM BST

18 people hospitalised

The carrier said “18 individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals,” without giving details of the nature and severity of the injuries.

“We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time,” the airline said.

01:53 PM BST

One person dies after Singapore Airlines flight encounters severe turbulence

At least one person has died and dozens of others have been injured after a flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence.

A Singapore Airlines flight was forced to divert to Bangkok after a passenger was killed and 30 people were hurt, local media reported.

“We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board,” a spokesperson for the airline said.