The Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER on the tarmac at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after an emergency landing following severe turbulence over Myanmar.Credit:AP
“Head lacerations,bleeding ears. A lady was screaming in pain with a bad back.”
He described the scene as “surreal,” saying coffee and water splattered the ceiling as the plane dropped.
“One of the Singapore Airlines crew said it was by far the worst in her 30 years of flying,” he said. “[The] lesson is wear a seatbelt at all times.”
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Dzafran Azmir,a 28-year-old student on board the flight,recounted how the aircraft started “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 a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” Azmir said.
Singapore’s Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat said in addition to Singapore Airlines,the Ministry of Transport,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport officials were all providing support to the affected passengers and their families.
“My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” he added.
South-East Asia is currently experiencing a series of tropical storms.
The LondonTelegraph reported that a British Airways flight was last week forced to return to Singapore after heavy turbulence.
Fatalities rare in turbulence-related incidents
Fatalities are extremely rare in incidents of turbulence,particularly during travel at cruising altitude,which is considered the most stable part of the journey. Carriers routinely caution passengers to keep their seat belts fastened even when the warning signs have been switched off.
The ceiling of the Singapore Airlines flight after its emergency landing.Credit:Reuters
Even so,turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type,according to a 2021 study by the National Transportation Safety Board. From 2009 to 2018,the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than one-third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries but no serious aircraft damage.
According to a briefing document,about 240 events of severe turbulence were reported to European manufacturer Airbus between 2014 and 2018. Injuries to passengers and crew occurred on 30 per cent of long-haul flights where such events were reported and on 12 per cent of short-haul flights.
A study by Reading University in the UK,published in 2023,said that clear-air turbulence,which is invisible,had increased with climate change. While the US and North Atlantic had seen the biggest increase,routes over Europe,the Middle East,and the South Atlantic had also seen significant rises in turbulence.