CEO apologises for deadly ‘traumatic’ flight

The top of Singapore Airways has apologised after a flight on Tuesday was hit by “extreme excessive turbulence”, killing one particular person and injuring dozens.

Goh Choon Phong stated the airline was “very sorry for the traumatic expertise” for these onboard flight SQ321 from London to Singapore.

The flight was pressured to make an emergency touchdown within the Thai capital Bangkok.

Smitivej Hospital, in Bangkok, stated 104 folks had been handled and 58 stay in hospital, 20 of whom are within the intensive care unit.

There are 15 Britons nonetheless being handled in hospital, with six in intensive care, the hospital stated.

A aid flight carrying the remaining passengers and crew members arrived in Singapore early on Wednesday.

The aircraft, which had 211 passengers and 18 crew members onboard, hit extreme turbulence over the Indian Ocean and dropped greater than 6,000 ft (1800m) in three minutes.

In a video assertion on Wednesday, Mr Goh stated the airline was “totally cooperating with related authorities on the investigations”.

He additionally expressed his condolences to the household of the sufferer, including that they’d “render all attainable help” to affected passengers and crew members.

Mr Goh added that the aircraft was 10 hours into its journey and flying over the Irrawaddy Basin at an altitude of 37,000 ft when it encountered the turbulence.

A 73-year-old Briton, Geoff Kitchen, died of a suspected coronary heart assault throughout the flight, whereas a number of others stay in a important situation.

Mr Kitchen was believed to be on board the flight together with his spouse, with the pair headed to Singapore to start out a six-week vacation, stated media studies.

Andrew Davies, a British passenger onboard the Boeing 777-300ER, instructed the BBC’s Radio 5 that the aircraft “abruptly dropped… [with] little or no warning”, including that he recalled seeing a lady with an “terrible gash on her head”, whereas one other was heard “screaming in agony”.

One other passenger stated these not sporting seatbelts had been “launched instantly into the ceiling”.

“I noticed folks from throughout the aisle simply going fully horizontal, hitting the ceiling and touchdown again down in actually awkward positions. Folks getting large gashes within the head concussions,” Dzafran Azmir instructed Reuters.

Mr Azmir added that individuals’s heads had slammed into the overhead panels above the seats and “pushed by” among the panels.

In keeping with the Montreal Conference, all airways are strictly accountable for harm attributable to demise or damage of passengers.

Nonetheless, airways can restrict their legal responsibility by exhibiting that the passengers might need borne among the fault for the damage, comparable to by ignoring directions to put on their seatbelts, Mike Danko, a California legal professional instructed Reuters information company.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong despatched his “deepest condolences” to the household and family members of the deceased, including that Singapore was “working carefully with Thai authorities”.

He additionally stated Singapore’s Transport Security Investigation Bureau would conduct an intensive investigation into the incident.

Accidents involving Singapore Airways are uncommon, with the service constantly rating among the many world’s most secure.

The final deadly accident occurred in 2000, when a Boeing 747 crashed whereas trying to take off from the fallacious runway at a Taiwan airport.

Some 83 folks of the 179 folks onboard had been killed.