A British man who died after a Singapore Airlinesflight hit severe turbulence has been named as Geoffrey Kitchen.
The Thornbury Musical Theatre Group, where the 73-year-old worked for 35 years, most recently as its director, is among those paying tribute to Mr Kitchen, praising him as a “gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity”.
Mr Kitchen was travelling with his wife when he died on board the Boeing 777-300ER plane, which was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok en route to Singapore from London on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport said a British man suffered a suspected heart attack on the aircraft, which was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, while seven people are fighting for their lives in hospital, and dozens more were injured.
Singapore Airlines said the flight encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure and the pilot declared a medical emergency, with flight tracking data showing the plane plummeted 6,000 feet in a matter of minutes.
Were you on the flight? Email holly.evans@independent.co.uk
Tribute paid to British man, 73, who died after turbulence
Tributes have been paid to a 73-year-old British man who died after severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow Airport.
The passenger, named as Geoff Kitchen, suffered a suspected heart attack on the flight, according to a spokesperson for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where the plane was diverted to.
He added that seven other people were seriously injured, with dozens more suffering minor injuries.
Namita Singh22 May 2024 07:02
Turbulence-related airline accidents are most common type, according to study
Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the US National Transportation Safety Board.
From 2009 through 2018, the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage. The NTSB is sending representatives to support Singapore’s investigation into the incident, it said.
Singapore Airlines, which is widely recognized as one of world’s leading…
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