Pictures from inside the plane that was hit by severe turbulence have been shared on social media as one person is declared dead on the Singapore Airlines flight from London.
The Singapore-bound Boeing 777-300ER was diverted to Bangkok and landed at 3.45pm local time. The flight was carrying a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew, the airline confirmed in a statement.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased”, it said. The airline is working with Thai authorities to provide medical assistance to those injured, with ambulances and emergency teams dispatched to Suvarnbhumi Airport.
One pictured shared on X that claims to be from onboard the flight shows food sprawled across the floor. What happened onboard the flight is still unclear.
Speaking to the BBC, an aviation expert John Strickland said injuries from turbulence are “relatively rare”. But added: “Severe turbulence can be dramatic and lead to severe injuries or sadly in this case a fatality.”
The Boeing 777-300ER departed Heathrow on Monday at 10.38pm. About one hour and 30 minutes from SIN Airport, the crew declared an emergency.
In Bangkok, pictures and video from local media show more than 10 ambulances at the scene, with emergency crews and airport staff stationed nearby.
Mr Strickland added that crews are trained to deal with turbulence, adding “it is not for nothing that airlines recommend keeping seat belts loosely fastened throughout a flight be it long or short”.
And while turbulence can be predicted, some parts of the world are more prone to it.
The Associated Press has analysed tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 which showed the Singapore Airlines flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 ft. Just after 8am GMT, the Boeing 777 suddenly pitched down to 31,000 ft over the span of about three minutes, the data indicates.
The aircraft stayed at 31,000 ft for just under 10 minutes before rapidly descending and landing in Bangkok in just under half an hour.
A passenger onboard the Singapore Airlines flight has recounted the terrifying descent.
Dzafran Azmir, 28, told Reuters: “Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling. Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.”