By Kimberley Kao and Jon Emont
SINGAPORE -- One person died and others were injured aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that encountered turbulence en route from London to Singapore, the airline said Tuesday.
The jet, a Boeing 777-300ER that departed London's Heathrow Airport on Monday evening, was diverted to Bangkok and landed Tuesday afternoon, Singapore Airlines said. The airline didn't provide details about the circumstances surrounding the death and injuries.
The flight had 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
Singapore Airlines said it was working with local authorities in Thailand to provide medical assistance and was sending a team for further support.
Turbulence during flights can cause sudden jolts, potentially endangering passengers and crew. Data from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board shows 163 serious injuries from turbulence between 2009 and 2022.
Of those, 129 were crew, who are more likely to be injured because they spend more time standing and not wearing a seat belt on flights.
Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for flight-tracking service Flightradar24, said their initial assessment was that the plane hit turbulence just before 2:50 p.m. Bangkok time, based on data that shows the aircraft rose a couple of hundred feet in altitude. About 20 minutes later, it began its descent into Bangkok and landed there at 3:45 p.m. Petchenik said there were thunderstorms in the region.
The journey from London to Singapore typically takes about 13 hours, flying over parts of Europe, Central Asia and northern India, then turning southward over Myanmar and the Gulf of Thailand before the plane reaches its destination.
Updates to follow as news develops.
Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com and Jon Emont at jonathan.emont@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 21, 2024 08:22 ET (12:22 GMT)
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