The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Bangkok Airport, Thailand
A flight of Singapore Airlines, direct from London to Singaporewas forced into a emergency landing at Bangkok airport due to “serious turbulence” which caused the death of one person and the injury of several passengers. The plane SQ321, a Boeing 777-300ER having taken off from London Heathrow on 20 May at 11.38pm Italian time, it was hit by strong “Cat” type turbulence (Clean Air Turbulence) while flying over the Bay of Bengal: this phenomenon, sudden and violent, occurs in areas without clouds and so it turns out invisible to on-board weather radars. The plane was suddenly shaken violently by the winds and panic broke out on board: dozens of people, many of whom were not wearing seatbelts at the time, were thrown inside the cabin, along with crockery and food from the catering company. on board, as evidenced by the images shared on social media by passengers. The violence of the event caused the death of one person and the injury of around thirty, although the toll is still provisional.
The pilots, after launching the emergency signal 7700, diverted the aircraft towards Bangkok airport, where it landed at 10:45 in the morning (Italian time) on 21 May. Several ambulances were waiting for the plane to provide first aid. “We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board our aircraft,” Singapore Airlines said in an official statement. “There were 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board. Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the victim’s family.” The company also sent a medical team to Bangkok to provide care to the injured.
Despite the accident, Singapore Airlines remains one of the world’s most highly rated airlines for safety and on-board service, consistently topping category rankings. The last fatal accident for the carrier dates back to October 2000, when a plane crashed in Taiwan causing 83 victims. According to the Aviation Safety Network databasethe company has recorded only 7 serious accidents in over 51 years of service.
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