Wife of man who died after 'severe turbulence' on flight from Heathrow sues airline
Linda Kitchen, 74, from Thornbury, near Bristol, has opened a lawsuit against Singapore Airlines after her husband Geoff, 73, suffered a heart attack when a plan dropped suddenly at high altitude in May 2024.
Mrs Kitchen herself broke her back in the incident and has launched legal proceedings at the High Court after losing her "soul mate", the BBC reports.
The couple were embarking on a six-week adventure through Singapore, Indonesia and Australia when their outbound flight began experiencing turbulence.
The situation became severe as the aircraft flew over Myanmar, and the flight was diverted back to Bangkok in Thailand for an emergency landing.
Mrs Kitchen said: "There had been some turbulence over Europe, and it had been shaky over the water, but it was around 10 hours into the flight when we encountered the main turbulence.
"It was so severe; it felt like the aircraft was dropping. I noticed my Kindle and Geoff's phone had fallen to the floor, and I thought the plane was going down."
As the plane suddenly dropped around 6,000 ft, Kitchen said her husband was thrown on top of her, leaving her trapped against the armrest.
Other people on board the flight managed to lift him and a doctor on board the flight began CPR.
Mrs Kitchen was transported to hospital while her husband remained on the plane and she did not learn of his death until two days later.
She said: "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."
Over the following 10 days, Mrs Kitchen remained in hospital in Thailand until being airlifted back to Bristol. She described being in intense pain that the journey itself was "a blur".
Once she returned to the UK, the widow remained in hospital for another week and says she has required significant assistance at home since then.
Specialist aviation lawyer Anthe Korelidou, who is representing Mrs Kitchen, said: "That Geoff was fatally injured and Linda suffered severe injuries vividly highlights the severity of what happened.
"While it's more than two years since Geoff's death, Linda and the rest of her family continue to have a number of questions and concerns about what happened and if more could have been done to prevent their injuries.
"All Linda wants is for the most thorough investigations to be conducted. The issuing of High Court proceedings is a major milestone in being able to provide Geoff's loved ones with the answers they deserve."
A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines said they were unable to comment on matters which are before the courts.
In July 2024, the airline told the Independent it had adopted a “more cautious approach to managing turbulence in-flight” following the incident.