Brian McDonald
London – A passenger who was in the Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 when severe turbulence hit on Tuesday, leaving one passenger dead and dozens injured, described “horrific” scenes aboard the Boeing 777 as it hit choppy air with virtually no warning. Dzafram Azmir, a 28-year-old Malaysian student, was traveling from London to Singapore when the plane was hit by what the airline called “extreme turbulence”, plummeting around 6,000 feet in the space of just five minutes.
“I’ve flown my whole life since I was a kid. I didn’t know that turbulence could cause this level of damage and how much it could hurt people,” Azmir told CBS News on Wednesday. He described the ordeal as “quick and unforeseen” when the plane hit turbulence at meal service time.
“There was screaming, yelling and gasping,” Azmir said. “People who were not buckled in their seats were thrown out of their seats, thrown to the ceiling of the cabin and immediately thrown back into their seats or onto the floor.”
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In a statement, the airline said the plane encountered turbulence over the Indian Ocean at 37,000 feet, about 10 hours after departure. The flight was then diverted to Bangkok after the pilot declared a medical emergency.
A Bangkok airport official said on Tuesday that the man who died, identified as a 73-year-old British passenger, had suffered a heart attack during the turbulence. In a Facebook post, the carrier offered its condolences to the family of the deceased man and later apologized “for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew suffered”.
Azmir said he considered himself lucky to have emerged from the incident unscathed, which he attributed to the fact that he had his seatbelt on at the time. Passengers said the seat belt light came on just before the plane entered turbulence, but Azmir said there was no warning, which he believes contributed to the extent of the damage and injuries.
Zoom/CBS News
He said his experience “pales in comparison to some of the more tragic things that have happened to other passengers” but that the incident left him fearful of turbulence.
A relief flight carrying 143 passengers and crew arrived in Singapore on Wednesday morning, according to the airline. At least 30 people were injured on Tuesday’s flight, according to Thai authorities, including some who were in critical condition.
The Reuters news agency said on Wednesday that 20 passengers were in intensive care, nine had undergone surgery and another five were awaiting surgery at Bangkok’s Samitivej Hospital.
