Singapore airlines turbulence: Report reveals passenger chaos
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore has released preliminary findings concerning the events on board Singapore Airlines' Boeing 777-300ER. The report reads that passengers not wearing seat belts were lifted into the air.
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore prepared a preliminary report on the events on board Singapore Airlines' Boeing 777-300ER. It was posted on Wednesday, May 29, on the official website of the local Ministry of Transport. The conclusions were drawn based on the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recordings.
According to the report cited by the TVN 24 portal, on May 21 at approximately 08:49:21 AM, the plane flying over southern Burma likely found itself in an area of developing convective activity. The onboard instruments recorded an unintended altitude increase in the aircraft, which the autopilot corrected. At 08:49:32 AM, the pilot signalled the seatbelt sign. Soon after, drama struck.
At 08:49:40 AM, a sudden G-force change occurred in the plane. Likely, this caused passengers who were not wearing seat belts to be lifted into the air, according to the report authors.
In the next second, another alteration occurred, causing passengers who were just recently airborne to fall. The sudden G-force changes within 4.6 seconds caused an altitude drop of 54 metres (approximately 18 metres), from 11,389 metres to 11,328 metres — analysts report. It appears that the abrupt altitude drop and associated G-forces led to the death of one passenger and injuries to dozens of people.
This is how the pilots of the plane reacted to the turbulence
During the turbulence, the pilots attempted to stabilize the flight. They turned off the autopilot and switched to manual control, which they did for 21 seconds. After receiving information about injured passengers onboard, the decision was made to divert the plane to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. Medical services were called to the scene.
The accounts of passengers who left the plane were horrifying. "The plane just felt like it dropped. It probably only lasted a few seconds, but I remember vividly seeing shoes and iPads and iPhones and cushions and blankets (...). The gentleman next to me had a cup of coffee, which went straight all over me and up to the ceiling" - said Andrew Davies, a passenger on the dramatic flight. Reuters, citing information provided by Singapore Airlines, indicates that 26 injured passengers are still in the hospital.
