Following the death of a Singapore Airlines passenger and injury to several others in an episode of severe turbulence, industry experts are advising passengers to do one thing on their next flight: buckle up. SQ321 from London to Singapore made an unscheduled landing at Bangkok’s airport after declaring an emergency over the Andaman Sea last night. Hitting a pocket of severe clear air turbulence, the conditions were unexpected and caught passengers and cabin crew off guard.
Many of them were reportedly not wearing seatbelts. Reuters cited passengers who said several travellers were thrown from their seats, hitting their heads on the cabin. “It is a matter of life and death,” says Sara Nelson, international president of flight attendants association CWA.
The association, which represents 50,000 cabin crew around the world, says last night’s flight encountered a pocket of clear air turbulence , which Nelson called the “most dangerous type” because it provides pilots and crew little warning. We have finished processing granular ADS-B data sent by #SQ321 . Data indicates the turbulence event occurred at 07:49 UTC.
https://t.co/8taJrD7JVB pic.twitter.
com/tOM6hG2zjc “As our climate changes, severe and clear air turbulence instances are on the rise. Always follow crew instructions and wear your seatbelt whenever seated,” said Nelson. “Turbulence is a serious workplace safety issue for flight attendants, and today we are sadly reminded it can be deadly.
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