'Nobody eff around now': Man on flight from London to Singapore experiences turbulence, notes how compliant passengers are

On May 21, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence before making an emergency landing in Bangkok. One passenger died and 30 were injured.

An SIA plane was on the same route on May 23 and it, too, experienced turbulence as it was flying over Thailand.

A passenger documented what happened onboard the plane and shared a clip of it on TikTok channel Looloopicks the following day.

@looloopicks I am now enroute London Heathrow to Singapore Changi, flying over Thailand. Darn, turbulence also happening like SQ321. Now all scared of turbulence! #sq321 #sia #Singaporeairlines ♬ original sound - looloopicks

"It's very bumpy right now," he said calmly.

Before he could describe the situation any further, the pilot made an announcement.

All services had to be suspended and the cabin crew were told to return to their seats.

The pilot added: "In view of the turbulent conditions, the seatbelt sign is now on. Kindly return to your seats and have your seatbelts fastened."

As the announcement was being made, the passenger noted how compliant others were — rushing back to their seats before fastening their seatbelts.

The sense of trepidation on the plane was palpable and he admitted how rare it was to see flight passengers be so cooperative.

'Nobody eff around now," he said.

In the wake of flight SQ321

While more than 140 passengers and crew members onboard SQ321 arrived in Singapore on a relief flight on May 22, there were still 20 individuals from the flight in intensive care in Bangkok as of May 23.

While there were no life-threatening cases, Dr Adinun Kittiratanapaibool, director of Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital told reporters that these patients still "need close attention".

SIA released a statement on May 23 that cabin crew will sit down and fasten their seatbelts when the seatbelt sign lights up on a Singapore Airlines plane.

Also, in-flight meal services will now be suspended when the sign is lit.

Previously, only hot drinks would be cut off during turbulence.

Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat told reporters that investigators are examining data from the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from flight SQ321.

He added: "They are going through the data from these two recorders now to be able to ascertain what happened during those moments.

"So, we await investigation findings to understand what happened during that time."

ALSO READ: 'Not in a great space at all': Australian says wife has no sensation waist down after suffering spinal injury on Flight SQ321

amierul@asiaone.com

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