(Reuters) – There was little warning of the chaos to come as passengers on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 relaxed after a long-haul flight from London with just three hours to Singapore.
But as the Boeing 777-300R hovered over Myanmar, it suddenly encountered extreme turbulence, wildly disrupting passengers, flight attendants and meals in the cabin.
“Suddenly the plane started to tilt upward and it started to shake,” said Malaysian student Dzafran Azmir.
The 28-year-old got ready and checked to see if he was wearing his seatbelt. He did. Many of the other passengers were not wearing their seatbelts, he said.
“There was a very dramatic crash, so anyone who was seated and not wearing a seat belt was immediately thrown against the ceiling. Some people hit their heads on the luggage racks above them, causing dents in them. They hit the places where lights and masks are and went straight through.”
One passenger died, presumably of a heart attack, and dozens were injured after the flight encountered what the airline described as sudden, extreme turbulence about 10 hours into the journey.
“I remember the objects flying around and how tightly the seatbelt was wrapped around my waist, obviously holding me in place,” said Andrew Davies, who had just fastened his seatbelt after the seatbelt sign flashed during a “perfectly normal” flight.
There were screams and a woman with a bleeding head wound, he said.
The flight experienced “a rapid change in vertical speed consistent with a sudden turbulence event” at 07:49 GMT, flight data provider FlightRadar 24 said.
The incident lasted only a few seconds, both passengers told Reuters.
“People were falling to the ground, my phone flew out of my hand and flew a few aisles to the side, people’s shoes were flying through the air,” Azmir said.
Oxygen masks hung from the ceiling of the aircraft, parts of which had fallen off or were dented and broken.
Eyewitness footage shows waste products scattered around the cabin, including fruit salad, kettles and trays of in-flight meals.
The floor was wet from spilled coffee, wine and water, Davies recalled.
Turbulence – or air pockets – can have many causes. Singapore Airlines did not disclose what type it was.
Weather reports indicate severe thunderstorms in the region.
“It was cloudy outside, all white,” said Azmir.
The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the plane to Bangkok. It landed there about an hour later and was greeted by a large number of ambulances and rescue teams.
“Every single cabin crew member I saw was injured,” Davies said, thanking staff who continued to help passengers.
He noticed that the crew was not seated at the time as they were serving drinks and performing other tasks.
“The crew and the people in the toilets were the most seriously injured… There were many spinal and head injuries,” Azmir said.
Davies said he helped lay a passenger on the floor whom medical staff on the plane tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate for about 20 minutes.
Rescue workers lifted injured passengers on stretchers above their heads through the narrow aisles while the other passengers remained seated.
As a passenger films himself walking through the carnage to disembark, a voice can be heard saying: “There are still people on the ground.”
Medical tents were set up on the tarmac to examine the injured; some were strapped to stretchers, some were in wheelchairs.
Passengers and crew who were not treated in Thai hospitals were transferred to Singapore on another flight early Wednesday morning and met upon arrival by Goh Choon Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines.
“I was very aware of every vibration on this flight and was absolutely sure that my seatbelt was firmly fastened the entire time,” said Davies.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari, Lion Schellerer and Kokkai Ng; Writing by Joe Brock and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Michael Perry and Kim Coghill)
