SQ321 incident: One year on, passengers recall how extreme turbulence upended their lives

Straits Times

20-05-2025

The interior of Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 after it made an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on May 21, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS
SQ321 incident: One year on, passengers recall how extreme turbulence upended their lives
SINGAPORE – It has been six months since giving birth to her second child in November 2024, but Ms Saw Rong still cannot carry the baby girl.
She fractured her back a year ago when extreme air turbulence hit a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight she and her husband were taking from London to Singapore. Ms Saw, who is in her 30s , was two months pregnant then.
On May 21, 2024, she and other passengers were flung up into the air on Flight SQ321 when sudden, extreme turbulence caused the Boeing 777-300ER to drop 178 feet, or about 54m, in 4.6 seconds.
It wreaked havoc in the cabin, leaving a British passenger dead from a suspected heart attack and dozens injured, some seriously.
One of the pilots declared a medical emergency and diverted the plane, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The impact fractured Ms Saw's back, and she underwent spinal surgery in Bangkok, where she was hospitalised for about a month.
She has not been able to carry anything heavy since, her sister-in-law Eva Khoo told The Straits Times on May 19 .
One year on from the ill-fated flight, Ms Saw and her husband, Mr Ian Khoo , continue to receive treatment for their injuries in Malaysia, where they live.
They are 'scared and traumatised' by the experience, and have not set foot on a plane since flying home from Bangkok in 2024, said Ms Khoo, who has been speaking for the family on this matter.
Mr Khoo was thrown up from his seat when turbulence struck, and his head hit the overhead luggage compartment before he crashed down onto the floor of the aisle.
He suffered head injuries, and his vision also appeared to have been affected, as he confused certain hues and perceived dark shades as lighter ones, Ms Khoo told ST from a Bangkok hospital in 2024.
Even now, he still has numbness in his hands, his sister said.
S he thinks it will take a long time for the couple to recover, mentally and physically.
'The incident had a very big impact on them,' Ms Khoo said. 'They thought they were going to die.'
On whether Ms Saw and Mr Khoo have accepted compensation offers from SIA, Ms Khoo said they are in negotiations with the airline 'until both parties can come to an agreement'.
Ms Saw Rong fractured her back one year ago on Flight SQ321, and still cannot carry her second child (left), who was born in November 2024.
PHOTO: EVA KHOO
In response to questions from ST, SIA said it had sent compensation offers to passengers in June 2024.
'While some passengers have accepted these offers, we continue to engage with the others directly or via their appointed representatives,' the airline said, adding that it was unable to provide more details for confidentiality reasons.
The airline has offered each passenger with minor injuries US$10,000 (S$13,000) in compensation.
SIA also offered an advance payment of US$25,000 to passengers with more serious injuries to meet their immediate needs ahead of discussions over the final compensation amount. Such advance payments are not considered an admission of liability.
Passengers had seconds to fasten seat belts
In preliminary findings released eight days after the incident, Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) said passengers had eight seconds to react after pilots turned on the 'fasten seat belt' sign before the aircraft encountered turbulence.
At 3.49.21pm (Singapore time) on May 21, 2024 , while cruising at 37,000 feet, the wide-body jet started to vibrate and fluctuate between plus 0.44G and plus 1.57G for 19 seconds, likely after entering an area of convective activity, or upward and downward currents of air often associated with thunderstorms.
G-forces measure rapid acceleration or deceleration by comparing it with the normal pull of gravity on earth, which is considered plus 1G. Hence, at plus 1.57G, a person would feel like they were 1.57 times their body weight.
At the same time the G-force fluctuated, SQ321 while on autopilot started to rise rapidly. In response, the autopilot pitched the aircraft downwards to return to 37,000 feet.
At 3.49.32pm, one of the pilots turned on the seat-belt sign. Eight seconds later, the aircraft experienced a sudden drop in altitude, causing unbelted passengers and crew to be flung up.
According to the preliminary investigation, the plane's vertical acceleration went back to positive 1.5G within four seconds, causing those who were flung up from their seats to fall back down.
The plane dropped 178 feet, from 37,362 feet to 37,184 feet. As a result, some passengers and crew members were injured.
For six past turbulence-related accidents, the TSIB released its final reports anywhere between 8½ months and nearly 2½ years after they happened. Most were made public within 19 months.
ST has contacted the Ministry of Transport, which oversees the TSIB, for an update on the investigation.
'My life has changed forever'
An Australian woman, Ms Kerry Jordan, 53, who was aboard the flight with her husband, suffered a spinal injury and was left a quadriplegic.
Ms Jordan, a former high school dance and drama teacher, told ST she was discharged from hospital in April 2025 and was 'only now beginning to confront my new reality'.
'My injury is so severe that I require assistance 24/7 just to be able to get out of bed and face the day confined to my wheelchair,' she said.
Ms Jordan, who is permanently incapacitated, said she is now living in temporary accommodation because her home – a free-standing, two-storey house in Adelaide – could not be adapted to her current situation and would need to be completely rebuilt, at a cost of about A$ 2 million (S$1.66 million).
She said SIA had provided compensation of US$170,000, per the Montreal Convention, but this was far from adequate for her needs.
'My life has changed forever,' she said.
Singapore is a signatory to the 1999 Montreal Convention, and it has been incorporated into the law here.
Under the Convention, claims of up to about US$170,000 can be made for death or bodily injuries arising from international aviation accidents, regardless of whether the airline was at fault.
For claims exceeding this sum, the airline may avoid liability if it can prove that the damage was not due to negligence on its part, or was due solely to a third party.
One issue that may arise is whether passengers heeded any warnings to belt up.
Ms Amelia Lim, a 44-year-old Malaysian public relations executive, said she was trying to fasten her seat belt when the turbulence happened.
'I felt my seat drop and I flew off my seat,' she told ST. 'The next thing I knew, I was on the floor'.
She had been on holiday in Britain.
She suffered a concussion and whiplash, and had lacerations, chest trauma and 'bruises all over the place', she said. One year on, she suffers from frequent headaches and still requires physiotherapy.
While she has continued to travel after the incident – mostly for work – she feels anxious and has 'panic attacks the moment the plane jolts', she said.
Before she flies, there is also 'a lot more preparation, checking the weather', she added. She accepted US$10,000 in compensation from SIA.
Lawyers prepare for a fight
Some have also questioned if Flight SQ321 could have avoided the turbulence.
Chicago-based aviation lawyer Floyd Wisner, whose firm is in discussions with SIA on behalf of his clients, including Ms Jordan , noted that other carriers in the area at around the same time had flown around the developing thunderstorm.
Based on ST's checks, for example, Swiss International Air Lines Flight LX181 from Bangkok to Zurich was flying in the same vicinity as SQ321 on May 21, 2024.
The airline told ST in September 2024 that its pilots made 'significant course deviations' on that day, using the onboard weather radar to navigate around severe weather conditions, resulting in several course adjustments.
Mr Peter Carter, a Brisbane-based aviation lawyer, said he is acting for 11 passengers from Australia, Singapore, Britain and New Zealand. His firm is also 'investigating claims for other passengers who have no physical injuries but have major post-traumatic stress disorder'.
Damages for mental injury are not normally claimable unless they are linked to physical injury, Mr Carter noted.
London-based law firm Stewarts is also representing passengers on SQ321 spanning multiple jurisdictions.
With many passengers sustaining life-changing spinal cord and brain injuries, according to Stewarts, claims are expected to easily exceed the Montreal Convention first-tier limit , the firm said in a statement on May 17. 'This is where the real combat between the parties will lie,' it added.
Mr James Healy-Pratt, a London-based lawyer, said he is representing 10 passengers with injuries ranging from paralysis and spinal fractures to significant soft tissue and psychiatric injuries.
Under the Montreal Convention , passengers can choose to bring claims in relevant jurisdictions, such as their country of residence, the destination country of the flight, or the country where the airline is based. There is also a two-year limitation period for claims to be brought against SIA.
The airline on May 20 said: 'SIA deeply apologises to all passengers and crew members for the traumatic experience on board Flight SQ321.'
It said it continues to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities in the investigation into the incident. 'We are also firmly committed to providing the necessary support and assistance to the affected passengers.'
Vanessa Paige Chelvan is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She writes about all things transport and pens the occasional commentary.
Azril Annuar is Malaysia correspondent at The Straits Times.
Jonathan Pearlman writes about Australia and the Pacific for The Straits Times. Based in Sydney, he explains matters on Australia and the Pacific to readers outside the Oceania region.
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