AN airline has introduced strict new rules for passengers following a fatal crash during a flight.
Singapore Airlines has changed its in-flight seat belt signage policies and altered at least one flight route after a British man was killed and dozens of people hospitalized following a turbulence incident earlier this week.
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The major airline has now taken a more cautious approach to turbulence, including not serving hot drinks or meals when the seat belt sign is on.
Singapore Airlines said in a statement: “SIA will continue to review our processes as the safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance.”
On Tuesday, flight SQ321 from London to Singapore, on a Boeing 777-300ER plane with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board, was diverted to Bangkok to make an emergency landing after the plane was hit by turbulence.
Terrified passengers and crew were thrown across the cabin, and some were thrown against the ceiling.
British grandfather Geoff Kitchen, 73, died of a suspected heart attack, while dozens of other passengers suffered injuries including broken bones.
One passenger, student Dzafran Azmir, 28, said the plane began to “tilt” and shake before a “dramatic” crash occurred and those not wearing seat belts were “immediately thrown towards the ceiling”. .
The airline also appears to have altered SQ321’s flight path, with tracking data showing it did not fly over the part of Myanmar where sudden turbulence occurred about three hours before its scheduled landing.
Instead, flights now fly over the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, according to the FlightRadar 24 flight tracker date.
Horrifying photos from inside the plane show the chaos caused by the turbulence with overhead cabin panels, oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling and luggage strewn across the cabin floor.
Passengers reported that people’s heads were hit by lights above seats and broken dashboards.
As of May 25, 43 passengers and two crew members were still hospitalized in Bangkok, and another 19 were still in Bangkok, according to the airline.
The 43 patients are in three different hospitals in Bangkok, Samitivej Srinakarin hospital said in a statement.
At Samitivej Srinakarin hospital, where 34 of the patients are, seven are in intensive care – three Australians, two Malaysians, one Briton and one New Zealander, the statement said.
The other 27 patients on the flight to the hospital include eight British citizens, six Australians, five Malaysians and two Filipinos, the statement said.
The official added that those injured had a mix of spinal cord, brain and skull injuries.
Doctors fear some of the passengers on the nightmare flight will never walk again.
Flight SQ321, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew on board, including 47 Brits, took off from London Heathrow shortly after 10pm on Monday 20 May.
The packed aircraft was destroyed by unexpected “severe turbulence” while passengers were having breakfast, about 11 hours into the 13-hour flight to Singapore, officials said.
The mid-air tragedy resulted in the death of a 73-year-old British grandfather and injured many others when the plane plunged 7,000 feet in a deadly six-minute crash.
A panicked flight attendant was seen with blood running from her nose, while bystander Andrew Davies said another woman struck was “screaming and completely covered in blood”.
Meteorological experts say one of the causes of the terrible ordeal was “explosive storms”.
An unidentified pilot said storms in the Bay of Bengal are reasonably common, as they claim to have been forced to fly away from a similar area just 48 hours earlier.
Reports from passengers are still emerging, but one man shared an emotional message he sent to his loved ones, thinking it could be his final words.
Josh Barker’s message read: “I don’t want to scare you, but I’m on a crazy flight. The plane is making an emergency landing… I love you all.”
Mom Allison Barker described the agonizing hours of waiting that followed her son’s chilling message at 9:10 a.m. Tuesday.
Another shaken passenger described people being thrown around the cabin with such violence that they scarred the ceiling during the ordeal.
Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong apologized for the “traumatic experience” and expressed condolences to the family of the deceased.
A relief flight took 131 passengers and 12 crew to Singapore’s Changi Airport on Wednesday to continue their travels or return home.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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