A team of officials from Singapore's transport department have touched down in Bangkok to investigate a freak aeroplane incident that claimed the life of one passenger and left dozens more injured.
Singapore Transport Minister, Chee Hong Tat, said officers from the department's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau will be looking into the incident.
"As this incident involves a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending an accredited representative and four technical advisers to support the investigation," Hong Tat said in a post on Facebook.
He further expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased passenger, 73-year-old British man identified as Geoffrey Kitchen. He was travelling back from a holiday with his wife and allegedly suffered a heart attack.
Singapore Airlines chief executive officer, Goh Choon Phong explained that he flight encountered sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin, around 37,000 feet. The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted to Bangkok. The plane had been in the air for 10 hours when hit was hit by turbulence.
According to the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), based in the US, instances of severe and clear air turbulence are on the increase amid climate changes.
"As our climate changes, severe and clear air turbulence instances are on the rise. Always follow crew instructions and wear your seatbelt whenever seated. It is a matter of life and death," the AFA said in a statement.
The body’s president, Sara Nelson, added that for flight attendants and passengers alike, the dangerous, shaky feeling in mid-air called turbulence, comes from air currents shifting.
She said while details of Singapore Flight 321 are still developing, initial reports seem to indicate clear air turbulence, which is the most dangerous type of turbulence.
“It cannot be seen and is virtually undetectable with current technology. One second, you’re cruising smoothly; the next, passengers, crew and unsecured carts or other items are being thrown around the cabin,” Nelson said.
IOL World