British passenger on SQ321 counts himself lucky to have suffered only minor injuries. Mr. Josh Silverstone said he bought in-flight Wi-Fi and sent his mother a message after the plane experienced severe turbulence.
When Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 hit an extreme patch of turbulence, British passenger Josh Silverstone, 24, suddenly found himself on the floor.
“I didn’t realize what happened. I must have hit my head somewhere—lots of people hit their heads—everyone was bleeding,” he told reporters outside Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok on Wednesday (May 22).
On the plane after the incident, Mr. Silverstone bought inflight Wi-Fi and sent a message to his mother.
“I tried not to scare her but I said I love you. People were scared,” he said, adding that some passengers moved seats to be with their family members.
He suffered relatively minor injuries—a cut near his left eye, a chipped tooth, and some pain in his neck—and said he felt fine until he arrived at the airport in Bangkok.
“Then I started feeling really sick … couldn’t stop vomiting,” said Mr. Silverstone.
“But there were lots of people in worse positions than me; people were laying out on the floor and they couldn’t move.”
He said he heard that many of the passengers sustained spinal injuries from hitting their heads and coming back down.
“A lot of people can barely move their (backs). I’m very fortunate to walk and come out here, only really 24 hours later,” said Mr. Silverstone, who will soon be starting work as a broker.
Mr. Geoff Kitchen, a 73-year-old British man who served his local community for decades, died on the flight. Suvarnabhumi Airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn said a heart attack was the likely cause of death.
Dozens of people were taken to the hospital after SQ321 made an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport at 3:45 pm local time on Tuesday.
Mr. Silverstone praised the crew for doing an amazing job and being very helpful. He added that he was happy to be alive in Bangkok and still plans to travel to Bali to meet his friends despite his fear of flying.
“I was scared of flying before; I’m even more scared now, but the pilots did well, and I’m here and I’m happy to be here.” He will be taking a flight out of Bangkok on Thursday.
Several passengers or their family members were spotted at Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital on Wednesday but declined to speak to the dozens of reporters in the lobby.
Security officers and customer service officers from the hospital stopped the media from approaching the group as they exited the building.
In an official statement, Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital said that 58 passengers are still receiving treatment in various hospitals in Bangkok. Twenty are in the intensive care unit, and twenty-seven have been discharged.
One of the passengers who had been discharged told Singapore news platform 8World that the turbulence was so strong that she was thrown into the air despite having her seatbelt on.
British student Daisy, 22, hit her head on the overhead luggage compartment and suffered a concussion. She mentioned being in shock on Tuesday and not feeling much pain, but on Wednesday, she woke up experiencing intense pain on the top and back of her head.
Daisy also noted that other passengers who were moving around the cabin or not wearing their seatbelts suffered more serious injuries. Being seated near the back of the plane, she witnessed six or seven people being stretchered off the aircraft from that zone.
Despite the ordeal, Daisy praised the crew for their professionalism and good service throughout the incident.
Singapore Airlines arranged for a relief flight to transport those fit to travel to Singapore, with a total of 131 passengers and 12 crew members arriving at Changi Airport at 5.05 am on Wednesday.
