Thornbury man dies after Heathrow flight hits turbulence

The airline passenger has been named by national media outlets as 73-year-old Geoffrey Kitchen from the area who suffered a suspected heart attack.

It is understood Geoffrey was travelling with his wife and she has also been admitted to hospital, officials say. 

Mr Kitchen was involved with Thornbury Musical Theatre Group and had previously spoken out in support about the campaign for reopening the Armstrong Hall complex.

A spokesperson for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where the flight was diverted said seven other people were also seriously injured, with dozens more suffering minor injuries.

Singapore Airlines said the flight encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure, with the pilot declaring a medical emergency and diverting the plane to Bangkok.

One of the passengers on board Flight SQ321 to Singapore said the plane suffered a “dramatic drop”, meaning people not wearing a seatbelt were “launched immediately into the ceiling”.

Images posted on social media showed damage to the ceiling of the cabin, and food, cutlery and other debris strewn on the floor in the aftermath of the incident.

The flight, operated by a 16-year-old Boeing 777 jet, departed at 10.17pm on Monday and was diverted to Bangkok, landing at 3.45pm local time (9.45am BST) on Tuesday.

There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board – including 47 passengers from the UK.

A spokesperson from Downing Street said: “Our thoughts continue to be with all those affected, including with that individual’s family.”

The Foreign Office is understood to be on the ground to provide support and work with local authorities.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are responding to the emergency landing in Bangkok of a Singapore Airlines flight and are in contact with the local authorities.”

In an update published on social media on Tuesday afternoon, Singapore Airlines said: “The nationalities of the passengers are as follows: 56 from Australia, two from Canada, one from Germany, three from India, two from Indonesia, one from Iceland, four from Ireland, one from Israel, 16 from Malaysia, two from Myanmar, 23 from New Zealand, five from the Philippines, 41 from Singapore, one from South Korea, two from Spain, 47 from the United Kingdom, and four from the United States of America.”

Flightradar24 said its tracking data showed the plane encountering turbulence at approximately 8.49am BST while flying over Myanmar.

A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Our deepest condolences go out to all those who have been affected.

“Accidents of this nature are extremely rare and aviation remains one of the safest forms of travel.”
 

Screen grab taken from Flightradar24.com of the flightpath of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore, which was diverted to Bangkok. (Image: PA)