A 73-year-old British man named Geoff Kitchen died aboard a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 flight from London to Singapore on Tuesday (May 21) after the plane encountered severe turbulence.
The BBC reported that Kitchen died of an alleged heart attack, while several others aboard were injured, seven of them in critical condition.
Singapore Airlines Passenger Dead After Turbulence Rocks Boeing 777
The Boeing 777-300ER coded SQ321 flight landed at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at 15:45 local time (08:45 UTC).
According to some passengers, those who were not wearing their seatbelts at the time of the incident were "launched into the ceiling."
The airline has since apologized for the "traumatic experience" its passengers experienced. Over 140 passengers and crew eventually arrived at the city-state's Changi Airport Wednesday morning (May 22), while 79 passengers remained in Bangkok.
Investigators from Singapore and the United States-based aviation company Boeing have been tasked with investigating the incident.
In a statement on Facebook obtained by Mediacorp, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat sent their condolences to Kitchen's family and loved ones, saying their offices were "saddened and shocked" about the incident.
This was the first significant accident Wong had handled since assuming office last week.
Meanwhile, the British Foreign Office said that it was briefed about Kitchen's death, was "supporting" his family, and was "in contact" with local authorities.
Another Air Accident Involving Boeing
Aviation consultant and former aircraft investigator Tim Atkinson told the BBC that turbulence's effects depended on the aircraft's size and that the Boeing 777 was huge.
He did not comment on the current controversies surrounding Boeing, but there are speculations that the incident would be an additional thorn in the aviation manufacturer's side.
The Singapore Airlines 777 plane was the latest in several air incidents involving Boeing aircraft.
VCPost recently reported two incidents last week.
The first was when a Garuda Indonesia 747-400 engine carrying Muslim pilgrims bound for Medina caught fire as it took off from Makassar Airport on Sulawesi Island, forcing the pilots to land the plane a few minutes later.
Another recent incident involved former US President Donald Trump's personal Boeing 757 plane hitting a parked corporate jet at West Palm Beach International Airport in Florida minutes after safely landing.
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