A six-week dream holiday turned into a devastating tragedy for a British couple when their Singapore Airlines flight was hit by severe turbulence over Myanmar in May 2024.
Linda and Geoff Kitchen, from Thornbury near Bristol, were about 10 hours into Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore when the Boeing 777-300ER suddenly plunged around 178 feet in less than five seconds.
Linda, 74, recalled seeing her Kindle and Geoff’s phone thrown onto the floor. She thought the aircraft was going down.
The violent drop sent passengers and objects flying through the cabin. Linda suffered spinal fractures after being thrown backward and sideways. Geoff, 73, fell onto her and had to be moved by fellow passengers.
A doctor was called and performed CPR on Geoff, but he did not survive. He died after a suspected heart attack.
Linda only learned of her husband’s death two days later while recovering in hospital.
“I knew he was in a bad way, but nothing prepared me for hearing he had died,” she said, describing the loss as devastating.
The couple had been married for 52 years and were looking forward to travelling through Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. Geoff, a retired insurance professional, was also well known in the Thornbury community through his involvement with the local musical theatre group.
He left behind Linda, their two children and four grandchildren.
The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members. Images from inside the cabin showed severe disruption, with damaged ceiling panels and food, cutlery and other debris scattered across the floor.
Several passengers from the UK have now launched legal action against Singapore Airlines seeking damages for injuries suffered during the incident. Linda is pursuing claims concerning both her own injuries and Geoff’s estate, while the family is also awaiting a coroner’s inquest.
Linda says she cannot bring her husband back, but wants answers about what happened and why.
