Sudden jolt throws passengers off Singapore plane

After a few seconds of composure, Azmir checked his seat belt. His was working properly, but many other passengers were not wearing it. The pilot had not given any warning before the incident.

"The impact was so strong that it threw all the passengers who were not wearing seat belts straight up into the ceiling of the plane. Many hit their heads, denting the luggage compartment, the oxygen mask compartment and the ceiling lights," said Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old Malaysian passenger. At the time, there were people standing, some in the toilet and the flight crew serving meals.

"The whole thing happened in less than 10 seconds. It was so fast that many people didn't have time to react, especially those who were sleeping," Azmir added. "The phone flew out of my hand. People fell down, many with injuries to their spines and heads. The crew and those in the toilet were the most seriously injured, some of them couldn't stand up. Shoes were scattered all over the cabin."

Azmir was one of 229 people on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 that crashed over Myanmar on May 21, killing one person and injuring dozens. Singapore Airlines said the plane encountered "severe and sudden" turbulence at 37,000 feet, 10 hours after taking off from London, forcing the pilot to issue an emergency warning and divert to Bangkok.

Andrew Davies, from London, said the seatbelt sign had only been turned on just before the impact. "Before that, the flight was completely normal, very smooth," he said.

Davies was watching a movie when he saw the seatbelt sign come on, so he did it. "Thank God, because then it was like hell. Lots of people were injured, with their heads cut off, their ears bleeding. I heard a woman screaming in pain. There was stuff everywhere, coffee and drinks on the ceiling," he said.

After the incident, Mr Davies said the crew focused on “doing everything they could”. Passengers with medical expertise also tried their best to help. “None of the injured were wearing seatbelts,” he stressed.

Davies was seated near Geoffrey Kitchen, a 73-year-old British man who died of a suspected heart attack after the incident. He also saw a passenger who was so badly injured that he had to lie on the floor for the rest of the flight.

"I tried to help Mr Kitchen, got him out of the chair and put him on the floor so some medical professionals could perform CPR for about 20 minutes," he said.

Jerry, 68, said there was no warning before the plane suddenly lurched. "The plane was not shaking at all. In a split second, my husband and I hit the ceiling, people were standing upside down. My son was thrown two or three rows away and fell to the floor."

Singapore Airlines did not say what type of turbulence was involved in the incident, but aviation experts said it was clear sky turbulence (CAT), which is considered the most dangerous phenomenon for passenger aircraft.

CAT is the chaotic movement of air in clear weather conditions. This is a challenge for many pilots because this phenomenon can appear at any time in good weather conditions, making them unable to detect it.

Turbulence is the most common aviation accident, according to a 2021 study by the US National Transportation Safety Board. One-third of the accidents the agency recorded involved turbulence, many of which caused serious injuries but did not damage the aircraft.

Flight SQ321 landed in the Thai capital at 3:45 p.m. It took about 90 minutes for crews to remove all passengers from the plane, many of whom had to be placed on stretchers.

Singapore Airlines took about 140 people who were able to continue their journey on another flight to Changi Airport in Singapore in the early morning of May 22. Passengers were tired and exhausted after the horrifying experience, some were relieved and happy to be reunited with their waiting relatives.

Chiew, a Singaporean, said his son was on a flight back home after visiting his girlfriend in London. When his son texted that SQ321 was diverted to Bangkok, Chiew and his wife were shocked and told him to get his head checked immediately.

"The plane encountered turbulence on the way to the toilet. The boy said he was thrown around, luckily he only had bruises," he said. "But before that we were very worried because we didn't know his condition. We're going straight home, he needs to rest."

After the turbulence, Josh, who is from England, texted his mother, Allison Barker. "I don't want to scare you, but I'm on a crazy flight and have to make an emergency landing. Love you all," Josh's text message read.

Mrs Barker was horrified when she read these messages, but did not receive any further messages from her son for two hours. "It was terrifying. We did not know if he was alive or dead. It was the longest two hours of my life," she said.