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”.
Mr Kitchen, who has two grown up children and two grandchildren, was travelling with his wife of more than 50 years, Linda, who has been transferred to hospital for treatment.
The Singapore Airlines flight was forced to perform an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where Thai authorities described encountering a “chaotic” scene.
More than 60 were injured, with around seven of them critically, authorities said.
Mr Kitchen was the trustee and the secretary of a musical theatre group in the market town of Thornbury in Gloucestershire.
The couple lived at their semi-detached home they bought in 2009, with Geoffrey a well known member of the local community.
He had lived in the town for more than 30 years and last May stood in the Thornbury Town Council elections as an independent candidate for the North East Ward.