A passenger from Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence which led to the death of a British man believes he will have to change career after suffering life-changing injuries.
Bradley Richards, 29, was left with six spinal and neck fractures and internal bleeding after flight SQ321 from London to Singapore plunged 176 feet in four seconds.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, died of a suspected heart attack while many others were injured, some seriously.
Richards believes he was knocked unconscious and woke up with blood pouring from his head.
After using a pillow to stem the blood flow, he says he “immediately felt back pain” and had to be placed in a wheelchair when the plane landed in Bangkok.
The telecommunications engineer from Benfleet, Essex, described the experience as “something out of a film”.
He suffered multiple fractures to his spine and neck, a spinal epidural hematoma and a cut to his head that required 20 stitches.
Doctors have told Richards it is unlikely he will be able to return to work in his current role as an engineer.
He said: “It’s just devastating – I worked in this role for seven years and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
He is receiving treatment in a hospital in Bangkok and is currently unsure when he will be able to return to the UK.
Richards said: “It hasn’t been pleasant, I can tell you that, but I try my best to stay positive and the airline and hospital have been really good to me. The healthcare is second to none.”
Early findings from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) show that the plane suffered a rapid change in up and down acceleration causing injuries to people without seat belts.
Richards said: “I was asleep or I think I was unconscious when it happened.
“I remember waking up and my head was full of blood, kids were screaming, people were running everywhere, it was so frantic. It looked like something out of a movie.
“I remember I immediately felt pain in my back and blood was pouring from my head.
“I tried to use my pillow to stop the bleeding – one of those they give out on flights.
“As soon as we landed, I was near the back of the plane and I remember the medical staff running and having to step over all the injured people on the ground.
“They couldn’t get a stretcher out for me, so I was supported to get off the plane.
“I told them about my back pain and the workers had to pick me up, support me with my armpits and carry me to a wheelchair.
‘It was all so traumatic’
“I think they couldn’t get a stretcher right in the back because of the people on the ground or maybe they didn’t notice it because of all the chaos that was going on.
“I was a little quiet afterwards, to be honest – it all felt so surreal. I didn’t scream or anything.
“It was all so traumatic. When I arrived and saw people on the ground, being stretchered – like I said, it looked like something out of a movie, not real life.”
The findings of the TSIB’s preliminary investigation reveal that the plane fell 178 feet (54 m) in just four seconds.
The agency says this likely caused injuries to the crew and passengers.
Authorities believe Kitchen, from Thornbury, near Bristol, died of a suspected heart attack following extreme turbulence.
He was traveling with his wife on a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
