Terrifying scenes of passengers on a plane hit by severe turbulence Mix

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One person was killed and others were injured as a result of a Singaporean plane being exposed to violent air turbulence and severe turbulence, before it made an emergency landing in… Thailand.

The Boeing 777 plane left Heathrow Airport in the British capital, London, heading to Singapore last Monday, May 19, 2024, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, but it experienced severe turbulence while flying near Myanmar airspace in an area exposed to thunderstorms. Severe tropical.

After about 11 hours of flying, the plane descended sharply from an altitude of about 37,000 feet to 31,000 feet within just 5 minutes after crossing the Andaman Sea and approaching Thailand.

The terrified passengers described the moments of terror they experienced before the plane made a sudden landing. One of them said that the passengers who were not wearing seat belts “flew to the ceiling” and their heads collided with the overhead luggage lockers.

One of the passengers said: “The passengers’ luggage was scattered, and coffee and water were scattered on the ceiling. Many wounded people were seen with lacerations in the head and bleeding in the ears. A woman was screaming in pain. I could not help her, I only brought her water.”

A 73-year-old British man died from what is believed to be a heart attack he suffered on the plane, while some other passengers are still suffering from serious injuries.

Singapore Airlines said in a statement published on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter): “Singapore Airlines flight No. SQ321, which departed from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on May 20, 2024, encountered; Severe turbulence is on its way. “The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545 local time on 21 May 2024. We can confirm that there are injuries and one death.”

Singapore Airlines President Goh Choon Phong came out on Wednesday morning in a Facebook video, saying, “The airline deeply regrets the traumatic experience and is fully cooperating with the relevant authorities in the investigations.”

He also expressed his condolences to the victim’s family, adding that they “will provide all possible assistance” to the affected passengers and crew members.

For his part, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed his regret over the incident, saying: “I was relieved to hear that 131 passengers and 12 crew members aboard Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 had safely returned to Singapore early this morning. “We will conduct a comprehensive investigation.”

Air turbulence andJet streams

These air turbulences (turbulence) are caused by the movement of high-pressure air under the wings and rotating around the tips of the wings to an area of ​​lower air pressure above them.

There are 4 main levels of disorder; Mild, moderate, severe, and very severe. In cases of mild and moderate turbulence, passengers may feel pressure on the seat belts, and some loose parts in the cabin may move.

In more serious cases, turbulence can throw passengers around the cabin, leading to serious injuries or even death.

According to aviation experts, the cause of turbulence during flights can be due to storms, mountains, and strong air currents called “jet streams,” which is called clear air turbulence, and it may be difficult to avoid because it does not appear on the weather radar in the cockpit.

Clear air turbulence is the movement of air caused by atmospheric pressure, jet streams, air around mountains, cold or warm weather fronts or thunderstorms, according to the FAA website.

This phenomenon results in frequent accidents, the most serious of which was in November 2001 when an Airbus A300 crashed in Queens, New York City, shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Aviation accidents related to turbulence are the most common type, according to a 2021 study conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board.

From 2009 to 2018, the US agency found that air turbulence caused more than a third of reported aviation accidents, and most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries, without the planes sustaining any damage.

On March 11, 2024, the passengers of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner experienced moments of terror after its pilot lost control as a result of a technical defect and landed very quickly while flying from Australia to Chile via New Zealand.

The LATAM flight landed suddenly and quickly, with some passengers jumping from their seats and colliding with the roof of the plane, causing injury to about 50 people out of 263 passengers and 9 crew members.

Climate change is behind the increase in extreme disturbances

A study conducted by the University of Reading reported that severe disturbances have increased by 55% in the past four decades due to the impact of climate change.

The report, published in June 2023, found that at a midpoint over the North Atlantic Ocean, one of the world’s busiest flight paths, the total annual duration of severe turbulence rose by 55% between 1979 and 2020.

In 2022, Williams, who co-authored the study, told CNN that he believes severe disturbances “could double or triple in the coming decades.”

He attributed this to “apparent turbulence,” a type of turbulence that occurs suddenly and is very difficult to avoid.

Williams’ analysis predicted that clear-air disturbances will increase dramatically around the world in the coming decades.

“Normally, on a transatlantic flight, you would expect 10 minutes of turbulence,” he added.

“I think in a few decades this might go up to 20 minutes or to half an hour. The seat belt signal will be played a lot, unfortunately, for passengers.

Seat belts have become a necessity

A 2021 report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent US government investigative agency responsible for investigating civil transportation accidents, indicated that the majority of passengers injured in “turbulence-related” accidents were not wearing seat belts.

Since it is sometimes impossible to predict when a plane will encounter clear turbulence, the only way to be 100% safe is to remain strapped in throughout the flight.

Source : Al Jazeera + Websites + social media sites

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