Severe turbulence causes 178-foot drop on Singapore Airlines Jet, resulting in injuries to passengers

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Singapore Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence that caused a rapid 178-foot drop in altitude, resulting in the death of one passenger and injuries to many others. The preliminary investigation by Singapore's Transport Ministry, released on Wednesday, revealed that changes in gravitational force led to the incident.

Incident details and immediate aftermath

The turbulence occurred on May 21 while the Boeing 777 was flying from London’s Heathrow Airport to Singapore. A 73-year-old British man died from a suspected heart attack, and dozens of unbuckled passengers were injured as they were thrown around the cabin. The flight, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, made an emergency landing in Bangkok.

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Singapore's Transport Ministry, along with investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and Boeing, analyzed the flight’s data and cockpit voice recorders. The aircraft encountered turbulence over southern Myanmar at 37,000 feet, which caused it to climb to 37,362 feet and increase speed due to an updraft. The autopilot then tried to bring the plane back to its original altitude.

Impact and ongoing investigation

The ministry explained that the rapid gravitational changes over 4.6 seconds likely caused unbelted passengers to become airborne before falling back down, leading to the 178-foot altitude drop and resulting injuries. A pilot was heard announcing that the seat belt sign was on during the turbulence. The pilots manually controlled the plane for 21 seconds to stabilize it before reengaging the autopilot. The flight continued without further turbulence until it landed in Bangkok about an hour later.

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Passengers described the event as "sheer terror," with loose items flying around and injured people lying on the floor. Twenty-six people remained hospitalized in Bangkok on Wednesday with injuries including spinal damage, skull fractures, and internal organ injuries.

The exact cause of the turbulence is still unknown. While turbulence is often associated with heavy storms, clear air turbulence, which occurs near thunderstorms due to wind shear and differences in temperature and pressure, can be just as dangerous.

According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, turbulence was responsible for 37.6% of all commercial airline accidents from 2009 to 2018. The Federal Aviation Administration reported 146 serious injuries from turbulence between 2009 and 2021. The investigation into this incident is ongoing.