Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore on May 20, 2024. experienced severe turbulence in the coastal area of Myanmar. This happened in the area of the Bay of Bengal, which is known as one of the most turbulent places in the world. Flight SQ321 was a Boeing 777-300ER, registration 9V-SWM, flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet. The flight from London to Singapore takes about 13 hours, and this event happened after about 10 hours of flight. There were 211 passengers and 18 crew members in the plane. The plane suddenly experienced severe turbulence and a lot of passengers were injured, and unfortunately one passenger died. The flight was then urgently diverted to Bangkok, where he was met by emergency services. 18 passengers were hospitalized, while 12 passengers received medical assistance. Other passengers and crew were screened at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
In the morning hours of 5/22/2024. 131 passengers and 12 crew members arrived on a replacement flight to Singapore, where some of the passengers were transported to their final destinations, some were accommodated in hotels, and some were given access to business class lounges to rest until the continuation of their journey. 79 passengers and crew members remained in Bangkok, namely those who received medical assistance and their families.
From this incident it can be seen that the plane itself remained in flying condition, despite the fierce turbulence, maybe the plane experienced some structural deformations, but it safely landed in Bangkok. Whether the aircraft experienced any structural deformations will be determined by subsequent inspections, and if everything is ok, it will return to regular flying. With such, even the strongest turbulence, the plane remains in “one piece”, the turbulence does not “tear” it. It shows how structurally strong the planes are and how much load they can handle. During such instances, including the most severe turbulence, the aircraft remains intact, i.e., turbulence does not “break it apart.” This demonstrates how structurally strong aircraft are and the loads they can withstand. During the most severe turbulence, the aircraft’s structure can endure almost several times greater loads. After events where aircraft pass through severe turbulence, the passenger cabin appears chaotic, with items scattered, oxygen masks hanging everywhere, and often ceiling panels falling. This chaos is also contributed to by passengers, as everyone on such a flight has water, snacks, books, mobile devices, or other unsecured items on their tables that end up flying around the cabin. Similarly, in the galleys where cabin crew prepare food and drink service, there is also a mess with trolleys, food, and drinks scattered depending on the stage of service at the time of the incident. This makes the cabin look chaotic, but the most important thing is that the aircraft structure remains intact and the seats stay in place. Often, videos on social media show tests where aircraft wings are subjected to forces they wouldn’t typically experience in regular traffic. All other parts are also tested for such loads.
Turbulence is not a pleasant experience for a significant number of passengers. Due to their fear of turbulence, many avoid flying and prefer to travel by land. As a passenger, you don’t need to worry about turbulence harming the aircraft; it can handle it without major problems. Injuries during turbulence occur because passengers who are not strapped in or are moving around the cabin get “tossed around” due to the sudden movements of the aircraft. They can hit the ceiling or other parts of the passenger cabin. This can be prevented by having the seatbelt fastened when seated, even when the seatbelt sign is off. Some turbulence can be predicted, and in such cases, pilots inform the cabin crew and passengers in advance. This type of turbulence that affected the Singapore Airlines flight occurs without any warning. To prevent injuries to yourself and your fellow travelers, stay strapped in throughout the flight, except when moving around the cabin. The seatbelt may be uncomfortable, but it can save your life or prevent serious injuries. Of course, even when strapped in, you can still hit parts of the seat, but those injuries will be much less severe than if you “fly” and hit your head on the ceiling or if you fly across the cabin and break an arm or leg.
Don’t let such incidents discourage you from flying because traveling by aircraft remains one of the safest ways to travel.
