Fatal Singapore Airlines plane dropped 54m in 4.6 seconds: report

More details have emerged about the moment Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 was hit with deadly turbulence.

The Singapore Airlines flight hit by deadly turbulence last week dropped 54 metres in altitude in less than five seconds, preliminary findings from an investigation show.

Passengers and crew aboard flight SQ321 suffered skull, brain and spine injuries when they were thrown violently around the cabin during the terrifying high-altitude ordeal, which left three Australians in intensive care.

The report from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau said: “The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within 4 seconds. This likely resulted in the occupants who were airborne to fall back down.”

The report added: “The rapid changes in G over the 4.6 seconds duration resulted in an altitude drop of 178ft (54m), from 37,362ft to 37,184ft.

“This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers.”

It took the pilots 17 minutes after turbulence struck to regain control of the aircraft.

TSIB, which operates under Singapore’s transport ministry, is continuing its investigation into what happened on the flight, whicch was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew.

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COMPO LAWYER EXPLORES WEATHER ANGLE

A lawyer representing some of the Australian passengers says the firm is investigating if the deadly turbulence incident was linked to weather.

Peter Carter, director of Brisbane-based Carter Capner Law and a former state president of the Aviation Law Association, said the increasing number of turbulence incidents on planes wold likely lead to more compensation payouts.

“Our investigation is currently focusing on whether the Singapore Airlines event was associated with thunderstorms developing close to the aircraft’s flight path,” he said.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES MEMO REVEALED

The head of Singapore Airlines has thanked the carrier’s crew for their loyalty after the flight hit severe turbulence, leaving one passenger dead and dozens hospitalised.

“The last five days have been immensely challenging for everyone at Singapore Airlines,” Goh Choon Phong wrote in a memo circulated to staff.

“Our agility, dedication, and team spirit were evident during this period,” Mr Goh’s memo said.

Singapore Airlines chief Goh Choon Phong has visited injured passengers in hospital. Picture: Andrew West

“On behalf of the [Singapore Airlines] Board and the entire management team, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he added in the memo, according to the BBC.

AIRLINE TIGHTENS SEATBELT RULES

Safety experts say passengers are often “too casual” about wearing seatbelts during flights.

Clear-air turbulence is invisible to radar and scientists say climate change may have contributed to the rough air that saw the plane plunge more than 1.8km in minutes.

The plane’s cockpit voice recorder has been obtained and is being analysed.

Singapore Airlines has tightened its seatbelt rules on its flights after the incident, and said it had introduced a “more cautious approach” to turbulence after the incident.

“In addition to the suspension of hot beverage service when the seat belt sign is on, the meal service will also be suspended,” it said in a statement to AFP.

CPR HERO WAS BOUND FOR CAIRNS HOLIDAY

A Welsh healthcare worker on his way to a holiday in Cairns valiantly tried to save retired insurance professional turned musical theatre director Geoff Kitchen who died on the flight. It is believed Mr Kitchen, 73, died of a heart attack. WalesOnline reports passenger Toby Pearl performed CPR for more than half an hour in a desperate attempt to save the elderly man’s life, only stopping when a doctor who was also travelling on the flight declared him dead.

AMERICAN INVESTIGATORS INBOUND

Aviation investigators from the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the suspected “clear-air turbulence” incident.

They will also inspect the US-built Boeing aircraft.

Five staff from the NTSB are expected to look at possible learnings from the incident to provide international air safety authorities with directions on dealing with turbulence.

A worker looks into one of the engines of the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER aeroplane. Picture: AFP

The flight from London Heathrow was forced to divert to Bangkok after experiencing severe turbulence while entering airspace in the region. Picture: Twitter

INJURED AUSSIE’S TERROR

Horrifying details are emerging of the terror passengers endured when Flight SQ321 hit severe turbulence, including an Australian woman who said she was thrown to the roof.

Melbourne woman Teandra Tuhkunen, who had her left arm in a sling, spoke to Sky News from Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital.

The 30-year-old said she didn’t have time to put her seatbelt on after the sign came on.

“It was just so quick, over in a couple of seconds and then you’re just shocked.”

Ms Tuhkunen hailed the actions of the pilots, saying they “saved our lives”.

Australian Teandra Tuhkunen, from Melbourne, was on-board flight SQ321. Picture: Sky News

HOW EMERGENCY DISTRESS CALL UNFOLDED

Shortly before 4pm local time on May 21, Flight SQ321 made a medical emergency distress call with Thai airport staff given just 10 minutes warning the plane had diverted and would land with multiple injuries on board.

Images from inside Singapore Airlines flight SQ321. Picture: Twitter

Images showed food and cutlery strewn across the galley kitchen of the Boeing plane. Picture: Twitter

One person died and dozens were injured when the Singapore Airlines flight they were on experienced “severe turbulence”. Picture: Twitter

Footage from the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 flight from London to Singapore. Picture: Twitter

More than a dozen ambulances were scrambled and an airside tarmac triage was set up as air traffic was cleared to allow the flight to land.

Images of the inside of the aircraft show the devastation with whole ceiling panels collapsed, bloody dents in others and debris strewn about the cabin.

Originally published as Fatal Singapore Airlines plane dropped 54m in 4.6 seconds: report