Widow of British passenger who died after SQ321 turbulence sues Singapore Airlines
Linda Kitchen, 74, suffered a broken back in the May 2024 incident and is seeking damages to fund specialist support, the BBC reported.
The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 after it landed in Thailand on May 21, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
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SINGAPORE: The wife of a British passenger who died after severe turbulence struck Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ321 in May 2024 has begun legal proceedings against the carrier in Britain, seeking damages after she suffered serious spinal injuries in the incident.
Linda Kitchen, 74, broke her back during the flight and has begun High Court proceedings seeking damages to help her access specialist support for her recovery, the BBC reported. Her husband Geoff Kitchen, 73, had also died on the flight.
Citing High Court papers, two claims were filed by the Kitchen family, The Independent reported – one by Mrs Kitchen and another brought by her on behalf of her husband’s estate.
Court records also showed several other passengers taking legal action against SIA, including Bradley Richards, Jack Jenkins, Hannah Fullerton, Andrew Dawood, Bryan Matthews, and Pauline and Michael Rainey, according to The Independent.
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Responding to queries from CNA, SIA on Saturday (Aug 29) said it was unable to comment on matters which are before the courts.
Mrs Kitchen and her husband were beginning a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia when SQ321 encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar while flying from London to Singapore.
Turbulence became so severe that she thought the aircraft was going down, Mrs Kitchen said, according to the BBC.
Her husband fell on top of her during the incident, pinning her against a seat armrest before other passengers helped move him and a doctor performed CPR.
She was taken to hospital in Bangkok, where she spent 10 days before being flown back to Bristol. She was also hospitalised for about another week in Britain and required significant assistance after she was discharged, the BBC reported.
Mrs Kitchen said she learnt of her husband’s death two days after the incident.
“Nothing prepared me for hearing he had died. It was absolutely devastating,” the BBC reported.
She also told The Independent that she wanted to understand the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death.
“I feel I owe it to him to at least get some answers,” she said.
Anthe Korelidou, a specialist aviation lawyer representing Mrs Kitchen, said that the family still have questions about what happened and whether more could have been done to prevent their injuries.
The family is awaiting a coroner’s inquest into Mr Kitchen’s death, The Independent reported.
WHAT HAPPENED ON SQ321
Flight SQ321 was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members when it encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar on May 21, 2024.
The Boeing 777-300ER was diverted to Bangkok, where it made an emergency landing so the injured could receive medical treatment.
Mr Kitchen died and dozens of others were hurt.
A final report released by Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) in May 2026 said Mr Kitchen suffered heart failure and pulmonary oedema, which is a condition involving a build-up of fluid in the lungs.
TSIB found that the turbulence was convectively induced and likely associated with a rapidly growing cloud capable of producing significant updrafts and downdrafts.
The SQ321 pilots had seen no bad weather on their navigational displays in the minutes before the incident and visual checks indicated a clear flight path.
Investigators concluded that it was likely the aircraft’s weather radar did not detect the bad weather before the turbulence struck, although the radar manufacturer said it found no evidence that the system had failed to detect and display weather during the flight.
The seat belt sign had been switched on after the aircraft began experiencing turbulence, but severe turbulence struck just 17 seconds later, leaving no time for the flight crew to make a cabin announcement.
Rapid changes in gravitational force sent some passengers who were not wearing seat belts airborne before they fell back down.
Apart from Mr Kitchen, 56 people suffered serious injuries and 23 had minor injuries, while 149 were uninjured.
COMPENSATION AND SAFETY MEASURES
In June 2024, SIA offered US$10,000 to passengers who suffered minor injuries.
Passengers with more serious injuries were invited to discuss compensation based on their individual circumstances and were offered an advance payment of US$25,000 to meet their immediate needs.
SIA apologised following the incident and subsequently introduced several measures aimed at strengthening turbulence management.
These included enhanced turbulence monitoring tools on crew tablets, updated guidance to flight crews on weather radar under-detection, refresher training for flight crews on turbulence management and in-flight procedures, and additional reminders for passengers to keep their seat belts fastened.
Source: CNA/sz
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