Passengers and crew members of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 landed in Singapore today, a day after the plane flying from London hit “extreme and sudden turbulence” that killed one British passenger and seriously injured several other passengers .

The aircraft made an emergency landing in Bangkok and the airline’s chief executive apologized.

The incident occurred yesterday ten hours after the take off of the Boeing 777 aircraft, while flying at an altitude of 11,000 meters above Myanmar, when it suddenly began to climb and dive violently and repeatedly.

According to a passenger, the people inside the cabin were thrown with such violence that their heads hit the ceiling. Dozens of people suffered serious head injuries.

Photos from inside the aircraft show a cabin strewn with food, bottles and luggage, while oxygen masks hang from the ceiling.

Singapore Airlines “deeply regrets the traumatic experience” passengers had, chief executive Goh Chun Fong said.

“I want to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of the man who lost his life,” he says in a video message.

The aircraft carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew made an emergency landing at Bangkok airport, where the injured were taken to ambulances waiting on the tarmac.

A 73-year-old British man died and, according to the Bangkok hospital where the injured were taken, 71 people are being treated, including 6 in a serious condition. According to the capital’s airport, 83 people were injured.

Today, 131 passengers and 12 crew members arrived on another flight to Singapore.

“As soon as the signal goes off, most people immediately unbuckle their seat belts”

They were greeted with relief by their family, but none wanted to speak to reporters.

Andrew Davies, a British passenger, told BBC Radio 5 that the plane “plunged suddenly” and “almost without warning” and he believed it was going to crash.

He described seeing people around him with head injuries and blood in their ears. “The turbulence was incredibly violent.”

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has sent his “heartfelt condolences” to the family of slain Briton Jeff Kitchen, a Bristol theater director.

Singapore has sent a commission of inquiry to Bangkok, and Lawrence Yewong assured on Facebook that his country is “working closely with the Thai authorities”.

Among the passengers, 56 were Australian, 47 British and 41 Singaporean, the company said.

“It is too early to know exactly what happened. But I think in general passengers are not taking enough precautions,” Anthony Brickhouse, a US aviation security expert, told AFP.

“As soon as the signal goes off, most people immediately unbuckle their seat belts.”

According to Andrew Davies, “the aircraft went into a dive when the seatbelt signal had just come on”.

Alison Barker, whose son was on the plane, told the BBC that he texted her about a “crazy flight” and said an emergency landing had to be made.

“We didn’t know if he had survived, our anxiety was great. I had the longest two hours of my life,” he said.

Scientists explain that climate change is likely to cause more turbulence, invisible to radar.

According to a 2023 study, the annual duration of turbulence increased by 17% between 1979 and 2020, while rarer severe turbulence increased by 50%.