Mitcham Girls High School dance teacher faces long recovery after Singapore Airlines flight from hell

An Adelaide couple hurt in freak mid-air turbulence say they are overjoyed to be home – but “severe injuries” mean normal life is still a long way away.

An Adelaide couple injured on board a horrifying Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore that was forced to do an emergency landing in Bangkok have returned home.

Kerry Jordan, a dance teacher at Mitcham Girls High School, sustained a spinal injury and lost sensation below the waist while Keith Davis suffered superficial injuries when flight SQ321 hit severe turbulence and plunged 54 metres in just 4.6 seconds, sending passengers crashing into the ceiling.

A British passenger died and more than 30 people were taken to hospital, seven with critical injuries, including Ms Jordan who has been receiving treatment at Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin hospital with Mr Davis by her side since the flight on Tuesday, May 23.

Adelaide man Keith Davis at RAH after he was injured in the Singapore Airlines turbulence Picture: NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Dance teacher Kerry Jordan has lost sensation below the waist as a result of her injuries. Picture: Supplied

The Marino residents were coming from back from a “fantastic holiday” in the UK – their first holiday there since Covid.

Mr Davis reached out to The Advertiser two days after the flight amid a lack of communication from Singapore Airlines, who have since issued an apology to him and assigned a dedicated resource to support the duo.

Images from inside Singapore Airlines flight SQ321. Picture: Twitter

Images from on-board the battered flight. Picture: Twitter

Singapore Airlines #SQ321 turbulence aftermath. Picture: Twitter

A day later, the couple also received a call from Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who spoke with three Australians in the ICU following the Singapore Airlines incident.

Mr Davis said he and wife Kerry were overjoyed to be home.

Mr Davies and Ms Jordan landed in Adelaide on Wednesday but have spent almost all of their time since at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Mr Davies still has a cut and bruising from the flight.

But he said his main focus now was on his wife who has a “severe spinal injury”, still did not have any sensation from the waist down and faced a long recovery.

“In terms of her condition, we’re maximising what we can achieve … but we’re not talking days, we’re not talking weeks, we’re talking months, if not beyond that,” he said during a press conference at the RAH.

“Kerry is still carrying the physical trauma … but we’re just really just grateful to be home and have all that family and love.”

Mr Davies said he was pleased that despite all the hardships, his wife was “still carrying the essence of who she is” and that at the end of the day “Kerry is still Kerry”.

Adelaide residents Keith Davis and Kerry Jordan.

Although, Mr Davies said he could not help but feel guilty that he was healthy while his wife was not.

“To be very frank, personally, I feel very guilty that I am able to stand here and walk around and talk to you guys.”

“I am absolutely humbled by Kerry’s strength and courage to endure the trial of this last week, it just has been phenomenal and I know that that strength and courage will continue to carry us through,” he said. “In terms of post-surgery, it was a good result to get her stable.”

Mr Davis extended his thanks to LifeFlight for the “magnificent” efforts to repatriate their couple from Thailand.