A British woman has sued Singapore Airlines (SIA) after her husband died and she broke her back when their flight encountered severe turbulence.
Mrs Linda Kitchen, 74, has started proceedings at the High Court in the United Kingdom (UK) for the incident on board SQ321 in May 2024, reported the BBC.
Source: Linda Kitchen via the BBC
Speaking to the media for the first time, Mrs Kitchen said she and her husband Geoff, who was 73, were on their way to a six-week holiday in Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
About 10 hours into the flight, the plane encountered turbulence so severe that she thought the plane was “going down”.
As the plane suddenly plunged 54m in less than five seconds, she fell backwards and to the side and felt pain “shooting through” her, she told The Independent.
Geoff fell on top of her and squashed her into the armrest, causing her to scream and be stuck as she could not move him.
Two passengers managed to move him off, and a doctor carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him.
Source: thaipbsworld on TikTok
After the plane was diverted to Thailand, Mrs Kitchen was sent to the hospital but her husband was left on the plane.
“When I got separated from Geoff I knew he was in a bad way,” she said.
Two days later, she was told that he had died, which was “absolutely devastating”, she added.
He reportedly died from a suspected heart attack when the plane plunged.
Source: Geoff Kitchen on Facebook
Mrs Kitchen said life after the death of her husband of 52 years has been “incredibly difficult”, adding:
We had a happy and fulfilled marriage and now I’ve lost my soulmate.
While coping with the heartbreak, she also had to deal with significant pain from her spinal injuries, having spent more than two weeks in hospital both in Thailand and the UK.
Even after being discharged, she needed significant assistance at home, she noted.
Mrs Kitchen has reportedly submitted two claims, one for herself and the other on behalf of her husband’s estate.
She said she is doing this to “get some answers” and understand the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death.
She also claiming damages to help her get specialist support for her back.
Her lawyer Anthe Korelidou said the Kitchen family has “a number of questions and concerns” about what happened and whether more could have been done to prevent their injuries.
“All Linda wants is for the most thorough investigations to be conducted,” he maintained, adding that the proceedings would provide the family with the answers they deserve.
Source: Singapore Airlines on Facebook
The incident resulted in a total of 79 people being hospitalised for their injuries.
While most of them suffered minor injuries, some were critically injured.
Besides Mrs Kitchen, at least seven others from the UK have taken legal action against SIA, according to court documents seen by The Independent.
SIA said it could not comment on matters which are currently before the courts.
Also read: This day 2 years ago: 1 dead & 79 injured after SQ321 experienced severe turbulence
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Featured image adapted from the BBC and @thaipbsworld on TikTok.