On Tuesday, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300 experienced severe turbulence resulting in the tragic death of one passenger and dozens more injuries.
The aircraft was traveling from London to Singapore before being diverted to Thailand.
The airline confirmed the incident in a statement posted to social media.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” the airline said.
“Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft,” the airline added. “We are working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance, and sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional assistance needed.”
Flight SQ 321 was diverted to Bangkok after hitting turbulence and landed at 3:45 p.m. local time, the BBC reported. There were 211 passengers and 18 crew aboard the aircraft. It remains unclear if the person who died was a passenger or part of the crew. Airline tracking data showed that Flight SQ 321 dropped around 6,000 feet after hitting an air pocket, according to The Guardian.
Singapore Airlines didn’t specify how many people had been injured in the incident, but multiple outlets have reported that 30 people were hurt.
Turbulence occurs when an aircraft is hit with “an irregular motion of the air resulting from eddies and vertical currents,” according to the National Weather Service.
“Severe” is the second most intense form of turbulence an aircraft can encounter. It results in “large, abrupt changes in altitude and/or attitude,” which can also cause the aircraft to “be momentarily out of control.” Only “Extreme” turbulence is worse and results in an aircraft being “violently tossed about and practically impossible to control.”
The fatal accident is just one of a number of high-profile cases involving Boeing aircraft in recent months.
In January, one of Boeing’s 737 MAX 9 jets experienced a mid-flight door plug blowout prompting all Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to be temporarily grounded.
In March, a Chilean LATAM Airlines-operated Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner had a “severe” incident during a flight from Australia to New Zealand, leaving 50 passengers and crew injured and 13 hospitalized. (RELATED: ‘Technical Event’ On Boeing Flight Leaves Dozens Injured)
According to preliminary reports, the airliner experienced a strong shake, froze and plunged dramatically before the pilot managed to regain control and land safely at Auckland Airport.
In February, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed Boeing the company must come up with a comprehensive action plan to address its “systemic quality-control issues.”
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