An initial investigation into the severe turbulence that struck a Singapore Airlines flight last Tuesday shows that the aircraft dropped approximately 54 meters in 4.6 seconds. A British passenger has died, and dozens of others were injured when the flight from London to Singapore was caught by severe turbulence over Myanmar.
Singaporean investigators have retrieved data from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft. Preliminary findings from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) indicate that the rapid changes in gravity (G-forces) and the altitude drop, which is nearly equal to the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, caused injuries to passengers who were not wearing seat belts.
There were 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board the Boeing 777-300ER. Geoff Kitchen (73) died on board from a suspected heart attack, and 104 other passengers were taken to a hospital in Bangkok for treatment. According to Singapore Airlines, 26 passengers are still in the hospital.
