Passengers have described their experience on SQ321, which encountered severe turbulence during a flight between London and Singapore on May 21.

Reports from the BBC and the Guardian have described the aircraft descending nearly 6,000 feet in less than three minutes.

The incident resulted in the death of a 73-year-old British man, as well as numerous injuries.

Completely horizontal

28-year-old Malaysian, Dzafran Azmir told Reuters that the incident took place in less than 10 seconds, with the plane suddenly tilting upwards and shaking wildly.

He described a plane dropping extremely suddenly, and that everybody who was not seated or not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling.

Some people hit their heads on overhead baggage cabins, damaging some of them, as well as lighting fixtures and oxygen mask storage compartments, breaking straight through it.

The rapid descent caused passengers who were not wearing their seatbelts to be thrown around the cabin, with some passengers describing people going completely horizontal.

Worst in 30 years of flying

The Guardian describes that breakfast was being served at the time of the incident, with cutlery and food being thrown around the cabin.

One passenger, Andrew Davies, shared his account on social media.

Lots of people injured - including the air stewards who were stoic and did everything they could. Bangkok emergency services quick to respond. Very little warning. The seatbelt sign came on, I put on my seatbelt straightaway then the plane just dropped.

— Andrew Davies 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺 (@andrewdavies_70) May 21, 2024

He describes a large number of injured people with head wounds, bleeding ears, with one woman having injured her back, while another passenger was laid flat in the aisle for the rest of the flight.

Davis said he was seated near Geoff Kitchen, the man who is suspected of dying from a heart attack on the flight, and that he had seen passengers with medical training attempting to help him by administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and shouting for a defibrillator.

He shared that belongings, coffee, and water were strewn all over the place.

He complimented Bangkok's emergency services, and the flight crew, who were "stoic and did everything they could", adding that one of the crew had said it was "by far the worst in her 30 years of flying".

Worst day of his life

The BBC spoke to a 68-Year-Old British man, identified only as Jerry from Reading, who had a large bandage attached to his head, and had been travelling to Australia to attend his son's wedding.

He described a situation where the flight had been going very smoothly for a period of time, and that he had just returned from the lavatory before sitting down.

Just then the plane encountered a bit of turbulence and then "suddenly dropped without any warning”, causing he and his wife to hit their heads on the plane ceiling.

He said a swarm of medical personnel had met the aircraft on landing, and that he had needed to go to the hospital with his grandson, where he was able to find his daughter and her husband.

After a brief period of separation, he was also able to find his wife.

He said that his daughter would require a few days of hospitalisation, as might his wife, but that it could have been a lot worse.

The man described the flight as the worst day of his life, and had severely traumatised him and his seven other family members who were on board the plane.

Because of the incident he no longer plans to attend his son's wedding, saying he intended to return home as he can no longer stomach the additional five flights it would take to attend the wedding.

Other passengers that the BBC spoke to emphasise that the first 10 hours of the flight had no incident and that their turbulence was extremely sudden.

The mother of another passenger who was heading to Bali describes his injuries as having lost consciousness, as well as having some broken teeth.

Going straight home

The BBC also managed to speak to the father of a Singaporean passenger.

His son was on his way to the restroom and was thrown around the cabin, although he said he was not injured.

He advised his son to check in case he may have possibly received a concussion that he did not notice.

However, he was thankful that his son was well, and the younger male intends to go straight home to rest.

The majority of passengers and crew return to Singapore early on May 22, with about 80 remaining in Bangkok to receive medical care, or are in the company of those who are doing so.

Seven passengers remain in critical condition, including one Malaysian.

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Top image via Andrew Davis/X & Skyboyz/X