Plane involved in SQ321 incident returns to Singapore
The Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane that experienced severe air turbulence on May 21, resulting in one death and dozens of injuries, returned to Singapore on May 26 after being cleared for departure from Bangkok.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, an SIA spokesperson said that aircraft 9V-SWM, a Boeing 777-300ER, was flown back from Bangkok on May 26 and landed at 1.39pm.
Said the spokesperson: “SIA obtained the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities in Singapore and Thailand, the investigators, and the aircraft manufacturer, and the aircraft was cleared by our engineering and flight operations teams, before departure.”
The spokesperson added that SIA is fully cooperating with the authorities in the investigation into the incident on May 21.
SQ321 experienced extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar, about 10 hours after leaving London for Singapore.
The pilot diverted the plane carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after declaring a medical emergency, and made an emergency landing at 3.45pm (4.45pm Singapore time).
The passengers on SQ321 included 41 Singaporeans, with the remaining 170 from countries such as Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Britain.
The passenger who died has been identified as Mr Geoff Kitchen, a 73-year-old Briton. He was a retired insurance professional and musical theatre director at the time of his death, according to British media reports.
The father of two and his wife, who was also on the flight and later taken to hospital, were en route to a six-week holiday taking in Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and Australia. He is suspected to have died of a heart attack.
According to an SIA update on May 26, 40 passengers and one crew member are receiving treatment in hospital in Bangkok. The airline said 53 people on the flight, including the crew member, are still there.
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