Saturday, January 25, 2014

Chaotic In-flight Mess After Turbulence on Singapore Airlines Flight

The incident took place on a Singapore Airlines aircraft similar to the one pictured here

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

We may have all experienced turbulence on flights, but when a rough patch is so bad that the ceiling ends up covered in coffee then you know it's serious.

Passengers on a recent Singapore Airlines flight were left surrounded by a chaotic mess after their flight fell 20 metres when it hit severe turbulence.

A total of 11 passengers and one crew member were injured on flight SQ308 from Singapore to London last Sunday.

Flight attendants were told to immediately take their seats just before the aircraft hit the turbulence

Passengers were left surrounded by this chaotic mess after the plane hit turbulence

Mr Cross said the cabin crew and passengers were 'amazing' in the aftermath, as 'a calm and efficient clean-up' was underway

Mr Cross said anything that wasn't tied down hit the ceiling when the plane lost altitude

A total of 11 passengers and one crew member were injured on the flight

Coffee can be seen on the ceiling of the Singapore to Heathrow flight following the turbulence
Images courtesy of www.dailymail.co.uk

One passenger on the flight, who saw his coffee end up on the ceiling, managed to take pictures of the destruction which he posted to Instagram.

Alan Cross told ABC News that passengers had been warned to expect turbulence and that the breakfast service would be temporarily suspended.

A short while after the seat belt sign came on, the captain issued an abrupt order for all flight attendants to take their seats immediately.

Mr Cross said the subsequent turbulence felt 'like being in an elevator with a cut cable or free-falling from some amusement park ride.'

He said everything that was not tied down, including people, hit the ceiling.

The airline told The Australian: 'Eleven passengers and one crew member sustained minor injuries when the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of altitude and were attended to by medical personnel on arrival at Heathrow Airport. Seat-belt signs were on at the time and meal services had already been suspended.'

Within just an hour, the carnage had been almost completely tidied up and the plane was practically back to normal.

Mr Cross said: 'The cabin crew was amazing in the aftermath, as were fellow passengers who helped everyone around them then in a calm and efficient clean-up.'

He said crew checked for injuries before cleaning up the mess and gave passengers boxes of chocolates as they departed at Heathrow, where they were met by paramedics.

The vast majority of passengers are not affected by turbulence on anything like this scale, but some research suggests that unsettled flights could become the norm thanks to global warming.

Earlier this year scientists claimed climate change could result in flights from London to New York getting much bumpier in the future.

Researchers from East Anglia and Reading universities analysed supercomputer simulations of the atmospheric jet stream over the North Atlantic, concluding that climate change will increase air turbulence.

They found the chances of hitting significant turbulence will rise by 40 to 170 per cent by 2050, with the likeliest outcome being a doubling of the airspace containing significant turbulence at any time.

Dr Paul Williams from the University of Reading and the University of East Anglia’s Dr Manoj Joshi said the average strength of turbulence will also increase, by between 10 and 40 per cent.

Dr Williams said: ‘Most air passengers will have experienced the uncomfortable feeling of mid-flight air turbulence. Our research suggests that we'll be seeing the “fasten seatbelts” sign turned on more often in the decades ahead.'

33 comments:

  1. Whew. I imagined myself being in that plane and in a sudden drop while in a rollwr coaster ride. I wanted to scream. Takot na takot ako sa plane eventhough I am a frequent flyer. Mag barko na lang kaya tayo? Fear of heights..

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    1. can't expect less from SQ. after all, it's one of the top airlines in the world. just sayin'

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    2. maglakad kna lang Anon 12:21 :)

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    3. 12:31 tama ka jan, pero ako EK parin. The num1 airline in 2013!

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    4. Such a harrowing experience yang mga turbulence! Buti Hindi nag crash! Near death na Ito! Pero keep calm lang ung 2 flight attendant Pero in their minds is: katapusan ko na! In Singaporean language syempre....

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    5. Anon 1:01 AM; Accident ito kya caught unaware lhat. basa basa din ha kung aling airlines ang maraming awards! pareho lng sila ng SQ na 3x naging best airline! 2013 lng ba basehan? SQ has superb foods and service compare to EK! . EK planes are fab especially A380 pero their services and crews suck! Napafeelingero ng staff as if cla lang ang nag iisang airline s mundo!

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    6. ang pagkakaalam ko 1:18 eh walang nag ca-crash nang dahil sa turbulence. .

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    7. nakakatakot ito ung mahina lng na turbulence takot na ako kung ganito pa baka atakihin ako sa puso

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  2. Thank GOD everyone is safe.

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  3. Singapore airlines has one of the best fleet. Pano kaya kung sa maliliit lang na plane nangyari ang turbulence na ito? Mas grabe siguro ang nangyari.

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  4. lets pray na sana naman tumigil na climate change. nakakatakot na magbyahe kapag ganyan.

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    1. praying won't help. humans, cars, industries, etc are the main cause of rapid climate change.

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  5. Last year pa to! Pero kudos to the flight attendants for being calm and collected. Surely, you can't expect the same kind of reaction from cheap Cgirls.

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    1. Respeto nalang sa mga cabin crew kapatid! Its not an easy job! Im sure that they undergo the same intensive training like ours..you have no right to call them cheap.

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    2. Pls enlighten me, anong Cgirls?

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    3. Cgirls? Baka c stands for a lowcost airline na ngbebenta ng piso fares kuno tapos aabot pa rin ng libo-libo yun babayaran mo

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    4. C=the bisaya airline

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    5. grabe ka naman. pati mga bisaya dinadamay mo? excuse me ha? i'm bisaya and i'm proud of it. chupe nga! ikaw yung low class dahil sa sinabi mo :)

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  6. Ano kaya gagawin ng c if ever mangyari ito in one of their flights? Lol

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  7. Pagnangyari yan sa akin, tiyak na trauma ang aabutin ko. At tiyak na di na ako sasakay ng eroplano.

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  8. OMG katakot! Sana kinansela na muna ang flight kung expected na hindi magiging pang-karaniwan ang turbulence, or in the face of a terrible weather disturbance. I could just imagine the fear and panic of the passengers (despite the calmness of the crew).

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    1. Turbulence is unexpected te. Wala namang storm system sa flight path.

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    2. Ate, mahirap pong i-predict ang turbulence lalo na sa long-haul flights...

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  9. Kudos to the pilots who managed the plane to survive extreme turbulence. The same to the crew for job well done. And of course to the passengers as well, who did not give in to hysterics and focused on helping each other once it was alright to do so.

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  10. grabe nakakatakot!

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  11. I also had a less like experience, my flight from Paris-Dubai last Nov . whew it was really scary.

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  12. ai traumatic naman nito.

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  13. Hay katakot climate change.

    *goes back to reading dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels further increasing paranoia.

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  14. Just as a comparision, yung storm surge ni yolanda 20 meters din.

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  15. Singapore Airlines is definitely the best... They take care of their passengers talaga! Go SQ!

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  16. Madalas akong magbyahe and I can say na iba na nga ang panahon ngayon. Mas matindi na ang turbulence na nararanasan compared before, nakakatakot na.

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  17. Kung sa c airline mangyari to nakopo malamang may mamatay na passenger.bulok na mga aircrafts nila di well-maintained.kaya katakot para kang nakasakay sa ordinary bus

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  18. Naranasan ko ng once ang ganitong turbulence after so many calm flights kaya during that time feeling ko the end na talaga! As in wala kaming magawa hindi pwedeng basta itigil ang eroplano hindi rin pwedeng basta mag-land na lang kung saan. Ganun pala ang pakiramdam ng near-death experience hindi mo na maipaliwanag at hinding-hindi mo talaga makakalimutan sa buong buhay mo!

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