Man who died after turbulence on London-Singapore flight picture for first time

The British grandfather who died after a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence has been named as Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen.

The 73-year-old suffered a suspected heart attack after the plane embarked on a “dramatic drop”, which resulted in those not wearing seatbelts being “launched immediately into the ceiling”.

Mr Kitchen, who has two grown up children and two grandchildren, was travelling with his wife of more than 50 years, Linda, who has been taken to hospital for treatment, The Times reports.

The couple’s neighbours said they left their semi in Thornbury, Bristol, on Monday to fly to Singapore on the first leg of a six-week “holiday of a lifetime”, which would see them visit South East Asia and Indonesia, before ending their holiday in Australia.

Mr Kitchen reportedly suffered heart problems in recent years and had surgery to insert stents into his arteries to widen them.

Singapore Airlines said the flight encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure, with the pilot declaring a medical emergency and diverting the plane to Bangkok.

Seven other people were seriously injured, with dozens more suffering minor injuries after the flight ran into trouble over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin.

One of the passengers on board Flight SQ321 to Singapore said the plane suffered a “dramatic drop”, meaning people not wearing a seatbelt were “launched immediately into the ceiling”.

Images posted on social media showed damage to the ceiling of the cabin, and food, cutlery and other debris strewn on the floor in the aftermath of the incident.

The flight, operated by a 16-year-old Boeing 777 jet, departed at 10.17pm on Monday and was diverted to Bangkok, landing at 3.45pm local time (9.45am BST) on Tuesday.

There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board – including 47 passengers from the UK and four Irish nationals.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are responding to the emergency landing in Bangkok of a Singapore Airlines flight and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Additional reporting by Press Association.