More than two years after severe turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 left one passenger dead and dozens injured, the widow of the passenger who died has begun legal action against the airline.
Linda Kitchen, 74, suffered serious spinal injuries during the May 2024 incident and has filed proceedings in Britain’s High Court seeking damages to help pay for specialist support for her recovery.
Her husband, Geoff Kitchen, 73, died on board the flight.
According to CNA, citing High Court papers reported by The Independent, the Kitchen family has filed two claims. One was brought by Mrs Kitchen for her own injuries, while another was filed by her on behalf of her husband’s estate.
Singapore Airlines told CNA on Saturday, 29 August 2026, that it was unable to comment on matters before the courts.
She Broke Her Back During the Turbulence
Mr and Mrs Kitchen, who had been married for 52 years, were travelling from London to Singapore at the start of a six-week holiday that was also meant to take them to Indonesia and Australia.
Mrs Kitchen’s lawyers, Irwin Mitchell, said she suffered spinal fractures during the incident.
In her account released through the law firm, Mrs Kitchen said she had her seat belt fastened when the severe turbulence struck. She said her husband fell onto her, pinning her against a seat armrest, before other passengers helped move him.
A doctor on the aircraft then performed CPR on Mr Kitchen.
After SQ321 diverted to Bangkok, Mrs Kitchen was taken to hospital. She spent 10 days there before being flown back to Bristol, where she remained in hospital for about another week and required substantial assistance after being discharged.
She said she was informed of her husband’s death two days after the incident.
Mrs Kitchen told The Independent that she wanted answers about what happened, saying: “I feel I owe it to him to at least get some answers.”
Her lawyer, Anthe Korelidou, said the family continued to have questions about the circumstances surrounding the incident and whether more could have been done to prevent the injuries.
SQ321 Encountered Severe Turbulence Over Myanmar
SQ321 was a Boeing 777-300ER flying from London to Singapore when it encountered severe turbulence over south-west Myanmar on 21 May 2024.
There were 229 people on board, comprising 211 passengers and 18 crew members.
Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau’s final report recorded 56 serious injuries and 23 minor injuries. Another 149 people were uninjured.
The official cause of Mr Kitchen’s death was recorded as heart failure and pulmonary oedema, or a build-up of fluid in the lungs.
Earlier flight recorder analysis showed an extremely abrupt change in gravitational force. Within 4.6 seconds, the aircraft experienced rapid G-force swings that sent occupants who were not restrained airborne before they fell back down. The aircraft’s altitude dropped about 178 feet, or 54 metres, during that sequence.
The pilots diverted the flight to Bangkok after learning that people in the cabin had been injured.
Final Report Raised Questions About the Weather Radar
The final TSIB report, dated 18 May 2026, concluded that SQ321 had encountered severe turbulence caused by convective weather.
Investigators said the turbulence was likely linked to a rapidly growing cloud producing powerful vertical movements of air.
However, the pilots said they had not seen weather returns on their navigation displays before the turbulence.
TSIB found that there had previously been reports involving the aircraft’s weather radar showing too little weather information, or none at all. Investigators said the possibility that such behaviour occurred on SQ321 could not be ruled out.
The radar manufacturer, however, found no evidence from its tests that the system had failed to detect and display the weather encountered on the flight. TSIB also noted some unusual behaviour during testing.
Importantly, the investigation was conducted for aviation safety purposes. TSIB specifically stated that its findings should not be interpreted as assigning blame or legal liability.
That question will now be separate from the safety investigation as Mrs Kitchen’s case proceeds through the British courts.
