Brit, 29, on jet-plunge Singapore Airlines flight that left grandfather, 73, dead reveals he suffered six neck and spine fractures after plane was hit by turbulence
A passenger on board the turbulent Singapore Airlines flight that killed a British grandfather has heartbreakingly revealed he suffered six neck and spinal fractures.
Bradley Richards, 29, said he was knocked unconscious and woke up with blood pouring from his head after London-to-Singapore flight SQ321 hit turbulence over Myanmar.
Another passenger, Geoff Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, near Bristol, died of a suspected heart attack, while many more passengers were injured when the plane fell 58 meters in just 4.6 seconds and a rapid change in G- suffered force.
Mr Richards, a telecoms engineer from Benfleet, Essex, described the experience as ‘something out of a movie – and fears he will no longer be able to continue his work after suffering life-changing injuries.
After using a pillow to stop blood flow, he said he “immediately felt back pain” and had to be lifted into a wheelchair when the plane landed in Bangkok.
Bradley Richards (pictured), 29, was knocked unconscious and woke up with blood pouring from his head after flight SQ321, from London to Singapore, hit turbulence over Myanmar
The May 21 flight on a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board was diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing after the plane was hit by turbulence
Musical theater director Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, was tragically killed after a suspected heart attack
Initial findings from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) show that the aircraft experienced a rapid change in up and down acceleration, causing injuries to people not wearing seat belts.
Mr Richards said: ‘I was asleep or I think I was knocked unconscious when it happened.
‘I remember waking up and my head was pouring with blood, kids were screaming, people were running around everywhere, it was so hectic.
‘It looked like something out of a movie.
‘I remember immediately feeling the back pain and the blood rushing out of my head.
‘I tried to use my pillow to stop the blood, one of the pillows they give out on the flights.
“Once we landed, I was sitting in the back of the plane and I remember the medical staff running and having to step over all the injured people on the ground.
‘They couldn’t get me a stretcher, so I was helped off the plane.
‘I told them about my back pain and the workers had to pick me up, support me under my armpits and carry me to a wheelchair.
Singapore Airlines said it acknowledges the report and is fully cooperating with the investigation
The plane was hit by turbulence, throwing passengers and crew throughout the cabin
“I think they couldn’t put a stretcher all the way in the back because of the people on the ground, or maybe they wouldn’t have picked him up because of all the chaos that was going on.
‘I was honestly a bit quiet in the aftermath – it all felt so surreal. I didn’t scream or anything.
‘It was all so traumatic. When I came to and saw people on the ground being laid out, like I said, it felt like something out of a movie, not real life.”
Doctors have told Mr Richards it is unlikely he will be able to return to work in his current role as an engineer.
He said: ‘It’s just annoying. I worked in that role for seven years and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
Mr Richards is being treated in a hospital in Bangkok and is currently unsure when he will be able to return to Britain.
He suffered multiple fractures to the spine and neck, a spinal epidural hematoma and a laceration to his head that required 20 stitches.
He said: ‘It hasn’t been pleasant, I can assure you, but I’m doing my best to stay positive and the airline and hospital have been so good to me, the healthcare is second to none.’
At the time of writing he has raised £3,570 GoFundMe to help pay for ‘costs associated with the injury that will not be covered by Singapore Airlines or other third parties upon return home to Britain’.
Preliminary investigation results from the TSIB show that the aircraft fell 54 meters in just four seconds.
The agency says this likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers.
The Boeing 777-300ER plane with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board was diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing after the plane was hit by turbulence that threw passengers and crew around the cabin and knocked some into the ceiling.
‘The aircraft experienced a rapid change in G (gravity). This likely resulted in the occupants not wearing their seat belts and becoming airborne,” Singapore’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement.
‘The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within 4 seconds. This likely caused the airborne occupants to fall back down,” the report said, citing information from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
‘The rapid changes in G over a duration of 4.6 seconds resulted in an altitude drop of 178 feet, from 37,362 feet to 37,184 feet. This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers,” it added.
