Inquest Reveals Passenger Died of Cardiac Arrest After Turbulence on Singapore Airlines Flight
An inquest heard that a post-mortem examination found the death of Geoff Kitchen was due to cardiac failure exacerbated by turbulence.
An inquest into the death of a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight has been told that the man died of cardiac arrest.
Geoff Kitchen, 53, was on board flight SQ321 when it encountered severe turbulence over the Andaman Sea on May 21, 2024. The flight, en route from London to Singapore, was diverted to Bangkok.
A post-mortem examination conducted in Thailand initially found that Kitchen had died from congestive heart failure. A subsequent examination by Dr. Edward Sheffield in Bristol confirmed the cause of death as cardiac failure due to coronary artery atheroma and the physiological effects of turbulence.
According to a report read at the inquest, the aircraft was at 37,000 feet when it experienced severe turbulence. The incident occurred at 07:49 GMT as the plane was approaching the west coast of southwestern Myanmar. By 07:53 GMT, the aircraft had stabilized.
The crew declared a Mayday call at 08:01 GMT and requested a diversion to Bangkok, where the plane landed at 08:45 GMT and was met by medical personnel.
The report indicated that 56 passengers suffered serious injuries, 23 sustained minor injuries, and one passenger, Kitchen, died. The flight had been cruising when the severe turbulence struck.
Records show that Kitchen had undergone an operation in April 2019 to fit stents to his right coronary artery. However, a review in October of that year indicated he had returned to normal exercise capacity, according to a statement from his general practitioner.