Singapore Airlines flight live: Brit killed in turbulence named as Geoffrey Kitchen

Four Irish people were on board a Singapore Airlines flight from London in which one person died and many others were injured when the plane hit severe turbulence.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that four Irish citizens were on the flight, but it is not yet known whether they were among the many injured people.

A department spokeswoman said: “We are aware that four Irish citizens were on board.”

A British passenger has described the carnage onboard the Singapore flight that dropped rapidly in turbulence killing one person and injuring dozens more.

The Boeing 777-300ER plane was en route from Heathrow to Singapore carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew when it made the emergency landing in Bangkok, the airline said in a statement.

Seven of the 30 people wounded during the flight are seriously injured, Bangkok airport’s general manager told a news conference on Wednesday.

Even seasoned fliers can, at times, get spooked by the mid-flight bumps and shakes, though in reality the vast majority of cases will be nothing more serious than a jiggle to your in-flight meal.

Passengers injured by severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight yesterday are likely eligible for compensation, but the amount each receives could differ dramatically even for identical injuries due to an international treaty.

One passenger died and the airline said 30 passengers were treated for injuries after a flight from London to Singapore made an emergency landing in Bangkok. Samitivej Hospital said it was treating 71 passengers.

Under the Montreal Convention, Singapore Airlines is liable for accidents, which can include turbulence, on international flights regardless of whether the airline was negligent, according to US aviation lawyers. If passengers file a lawsuit, the airline cannot contest damages up to around $175,000.

If a passenger seeks larger damages, Singapore Airlines can try to limit liability by proving it took all necessary measures to avoid the turbulence, said Mike Danko, a California attorney who represents passengers. He said airlines rarely prevail on such arguments.

It is not a rare occurrence to meet big thunderstorms in the Bay of Bengal, said an airline pilot who regularly flies to Singapore and Southeast Asia. “There are always the chances of bumps.”

The pilot declined to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“We were about 30 miles off track flying around the thunderstorms two days ago on the way to Singapore,” the pilot told Reuters.

Turbulence has many causes, most obviously the unstable weather patterns that trigger storms, but this flight could have been affected by clear air turbulence, which is difficult to detect.

Rapidly developing, explosive thunderstorms near the flight path of Singapore Airlines flight 321 most likely contributed to violent turbulence, said Weather forecasting service AccuWeather.

“Developing thunderstorms often have strong updrafts, a zone of upward moving air, that rises very rapidly, sometimes at more than 100 mph, and can leave pilots will little time to react if it occurs directly in front of the plane,” said Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather’s senior director of forecasting operations.

Aircraft tracking provider FlightRadar 24 said that the flight encountered “a rapid change in vertical rate, consistent with a sudden turbulence event”, based on flight tracking data.

“There were thunderstorms, some severe, in the area at the time,” it said.

The chief executive of Singapore Airlines posted a video message offering his condolences for the death of British national Geoffrey Kitchen.

“On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” CEO Goh Choon Phong said.

A passenger on board the Singapore Airlines flight has recounted the terrifying moment when passengers were thrown up from their seats during the severe turbulence.

“I saw people from across the aisle going completely horizontal, hitting the ceiling and landing back down in like really awkward positions,” Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student, told Reuters after arriving in Singapore.

“People, like, getting massive gashes in the head, concussions.”