One dead, several injured in mid-air turbulence: What happened in Singapore Airlines flight

A Singapore Airlines flight hit an air-pocket on May 21 and encountered severe turbulence, which left one person dead and several injured.

Singapore Airlines CEO on Wednesday issued a public apology after one passenger died and about 70 were injured due to severe turbulence on a flight from London to Singapore.

The Boeing 777-312 (ER) aircraft (9V-SWM) operating flight SQ321 from London to Singapore had to make an emergency landing at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at 3:34pm on May 21 after one person died onboard the Singapore Airlines flight that was caught in mid-air turbulence.

The flight fell into an air pocket while the cabin crew was serving breakfast before it encountered turbulence, prompting the pilots to request an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, where it landed at 3.45pm (local time) on Tuesday.

Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines flight which experienced severe turbulence, resulting in an emergency landing in Bangkok, and the death of a passenger, described chaotic scenes with significant damage inside the plane and severe injuries.

"At 3:35pm, the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence, and requesting an emergency landing," the Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement.

According to Singapore Airlines, the said flight took off from London's Heathrow Airport and "encountered severe turbulence en route".

"We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board," the airline said in a statement. "Eighteen individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals," it said without giving details of the nature and severity of the injuries.

Flight tracking data suggests the plane dropped more than 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea. Notably, parts of Thailand have been experiencing thunderstorms.

Aviation news handle FL360 aero shared a few images and clips of the plane carrying distressed passengers after it hit turbulence.

The last Singapore Airlines fatality was in October 2000 when a plane crashed on a closed runway during take-off in Taiwan and 83 people died. Singapore Airlines has had seven accidents according to records by the Aviation Safety Network.