Singapore Airlines flight live: Turbulence leaves 20 still in ICU and one dead

He was the most wonderful human being’

Geoff Kitchen, 73, suffered a suspected heart attack on the Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow.

Lizzie Atkins, a friend of Mr Kitchen, said he and his wife had been planning to go on a cruise in Indonesia before travelling to Australia, describing the pair as “adventurous travellers”.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I just can’t believe that I’m having to do this. He was the most wonderful human being that you could ever know, really one of the top ones – he was stable and reliable and you always knew you were in safe hands with Geoff. He was just a remarkable man, really.

“He had a really dry sense of humour and he had a twinkle in his eye. Every time you saw him you just knew he was going to make a funny joke.”

Aviation consultant John Strickland said that “turbulence happens” but, even with millions of flights each year, incidents are “limited” and “fatalities are rare”.

He said: “Exposure is greater in different parts of the world.

“The South Atlantic, Africa and the Bay of Bengal are all places that spring to mind where there’s a greater incidence.

“There are discussions about whether climate change is influencing an increase in occurrences.”

The severely injured wife of the man killed in Singapore Airlines flight turbulence has been informed about his death as she recuperates in hospital.

Linda Kitchen and Geoffrey Kitchen were traveling from the UK for a holiday across Asia and Australia when the flight plummeted 6,000 feet in an air pocket on Tuesday.

“The tragic news was broken to her this morning. They were such a devoted couple, you can’t imagine what it must be like for her,” an unnamed family friend told the Daily Mail.

“She was woozy with painkillers and she’s going for a second scan,” the person added.

“She has spinal and shoulder injuries. I think she was unconscious when they got her off the plane.”

The passenger Josh Silverstone said the crew had been “amazing” and the pilot “did well” to land the plane in such difficult conditions.

“I was scared of flying before and more now,” he said.

Josh Silverstone, 24 from south London, woke up on the floor of the plane.

“I (…) didn’t realise what happened. I must have got hit in the head somewhere. Lots of people hit their head. Everyone was bleeding,” he said as he left the hospital on Wednesday evening after being treated.

He had been heading to Singapore for a holiday before meeting friends in Bali. He said he still hoped to make it to the Indonesian island.

Many passengers in the hospital still being treated had spinal injuries.

“I am lucky to be able to walk,” he said.

Josh Silverstone, 24 from south London, woke up on the floor of the plane.

“I (…) didn’t realise what happened. I must have got hit in the head somewhere. Lots of people hit their head. Everyone was bleeding,” he told Reuters as he left the hospital yesterday evening after being treated. He had a cut on his eye.

He had been heading to Singapore for a holiday before meeting friends in Bali. He said he still hopes to make it to the Indonesian island.

Many passengers in the hospital still being treated had spinal injuries.

“I am lucky to be able to walk,” he said.

A man messaged his mother “I don’t want to scare you” from the Singapore Airlines flight when the plane was hit by severe turbulence.

Josh Barker was among 211 passengers and 18 crew onboard the flight heading from London to Singapore when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok amid extreme weather conditions.

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British passenger Andrew Davies told Sky News that the seatbelt sign had come on just before the turbulence, but crew members didn’t have time to take their seats.

“Every single cabin crew person I saw was injured in some way or another, maybe with a gash on their head,” Davies said. “One had a bad back, who was in obvious pain.”

Stephen Kitchen, Kitchen’s first cousin, said he and his wife, Linda, had been looking forward to their six-week holiday together.

He told The Independent: “We were a bit shocked, I still am. I’m trying to touch base with Linda. I sent a message.

“They were looking forward to the holiday. They are travellers, they do quite a lot of these things, quite adventurous. It was sort of going to be their last big holiday. It would have been nice to see them before they went. It was a tour around Asia.”

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