Passengers and crew aboard flight SQ321 suffered
skull, brain and spine injuries when they were thrown violently around the
cabin during Tuesday’s terrifying high-altitude ordeal.

The London to Singapore flight carrying 211
passengers and 18 crew was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok,
where at least 48 people are still being treated in hospital.

Flight tracking data shows the Boeing 777-300ER
plunged 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just a few minutes, with passengers saying
it happened so suddenly there was no time for many to fasten their seatbelts.

In response, Singapore Airlines said it has
introduced a “more cautious approach” to turbulence.

“In addition to the suspension of hot beverage
service when the seat belt sign is on, the meal service will also be
suspended,” the carrier said in a statement to AFP.

“SIA will continue to review our processes as
the safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance.”

Investigators from Singapore and the United States
have travelled to Thailand to probe the causes of Tuesday’s deadly incident.

But air safety experts have told AFP that
passengers are often too casual about wearing seatbelts, leaving them at risk
if the plane hits unexpected turbulence.

Scientists also warn that so-called clear air
turbulence, which is invisible to radar, is getting worse because of climate
change.

– ‘Absolute carnage’ –

The director of Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin
hospital, where most of the injured have been treated, said his staff had never
treated such severe injuries caused by turbulence.

Australian passenger Keith Davis described the
ordeal, which left his wife Kerry with a severe spinal injury and no feeling
below the waist.

“It was absolute carnage, instantly. It was
absolutely surreal. You know, there’s no warning,” he told Australian
broadcaster Channel 9.

“Before we knew it we were on the ceiling. And
then bang, we’re on the ground. And you don’t know what is going on. And you’ve
literally fallen 6,000 feet (1,829 metres).”

Davis said his wife hit the doors of the overhead
luggage lockers before falling to the floor of the aisle, and was unable to
move for the rest of the flight.

On landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, the
plane was met by emergency responders who used gurneys to ferry the injured to
ambulances waiting on the tarmac.

Photos taken inside the plane after it landed in
Bangkok show the cabin in chaos, strewn with food, drinks and luggage, and with
oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.

Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong
has apologised for the “traumatic experience” and expressed
condolences to the family of the deceased — a 73-year-old British man.

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