by Theleaders | August 30, 2026 10:55 am
SINGAPORE, Aug 30 – The widow of a British man who died during severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight in 2024 has launched legal action against the airline over spinal injuries she suffered in the incident, The Straits Times reported.
Linda Kitchen, 74, has begun proceedings at the UK High Court seeking damages from Singapore Airlines (SIA) to help fund specialist support for her broken back, according to the BBC.
Her husband, Geoffrey Kitchen, was fatally injured when Flight SQ321 from London to Singapore plunged more than 54 metres in about five seconds while flying over Myanmar on May 21, 2024.
Kitchen said her husband fell on top of her during the sudden plunge, crushing her against the armrest of her seat.
Other passengers eventually moved him and a doctor on board began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The flight, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, was diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing, with 79 people injured.
Kitchen spent 10 days in a Bangkok hospital before being airlifted back to Britain, where she remained hospitalised for about another week and later required significant assistance at home.
The couple, who had been married for 52 years, were on a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia when the incident occurred.
“When I got separated from Geoff, I knew he was in a bad way, but nothing prepared me for hearing he had died. It was absolutely devastating,” Kitchen said, according to British media.
Anthe Korelidou, a specialist aviation lawyer representing Kitchen, said the family continued to have questions about what happened and whether more could have been done to prevent the injuries.
“All Linda wants is for the most thorough investigations to be conducted,” she said, adding that the High Court proceedings were a major milestone in providing Kitchen’s family with answers.
British court records also show that several other passengers have launched legal action against SIA over the incident.
Yesterday, SIA said that it was unable to comment on matters before the courts.
Following the incident, SIA offered US$10,000 (RM42,000) to passengers with minor injuries and an advance payment of US$25,000 (RM105,000) to seriously injured passengers requiring long-term medical care and seeking financial assistance.
The airline also offered full airfare refunds to all passengers and apologised for what it described as a traumatic experience.
A Singapore Transport Safety Investigation Bureau report found that storm clouds likely responsible for the severe turbulence went undetected by the aircraft’s onboard weather radar, but said it remained inconclusive whether there had been any technical issue with the system itself.
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