AVIATION

21 May 2024: En route from London to Singapore

71 people were injured in severe turbulence during a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore and a 73-year-old British man died in the incident from a suspected heart condition, according to the general manager of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Kittipong Kittikachorn. The turbulence tossed passengers and crew around the cabin and forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. The Boeing 777-300ER was about 10 hours into its flight and midway through a meal service when it hit turbulence. The aircraft was over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin, according to the airline, when the turbulence hit. The man was identified as Geoff Kitchen, who was described as “always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity” by the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group, where he worked for more than 35 years.