May 28, 2025
SINGAPORE – Components of the weather radar system on board Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321, which experienced severe turbulence in May 2024, have been sent to the US for examination and testing.
However, the results of the examination and tests are still pending, and the final accident report will be made public when the inquiry has concluded, said Singapore transport investigators looking into the incident, which left one dead and 79 others injured.
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB), a department within Singapore’s Ministry of Transport, gave this update in an interim statement on May 27, six days after the first anniversary of the ill-fated flight on May 21, 2024.
The TSIB said investigations into the turbulence event are under way and being conducted in accordance with international requirements.
The bureau is being aided by investigators from the US’ National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, with support from aircraft maker Boeing and other parties.
According to international guidelines for aircraft accident investigations, states are required to issue a preliminary report within 30 days of the accident and a final report within 12 months, if possible.
If not, an interim statement detailing the investigation’s progress should be released annually on the anniversary of the accident.
The TSIB had on May 29, 2024, released preliminary findings on the turbulence incident, which happened about 10 hours after the Boeing 777-300ER plane carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew departed London for Singapore.
The bureau found that the wide-body jet started to vibrate while cruising at 37,000ft over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar. At the same time, the aircraft, which was on autopilot, rose rapidly to 37,362ft and picked up speed.
This happened during meal service at 3.49.21pm Singapore time. At 3.49.32pm, the pilots turned on the “fasten seat belt” sign as they tried to manage the plane’s airspeed.
Eight seconds later, the plane experienced rapid changes in gravitational forces as it fell 178ft, or 54m.
This likely caused unbelted passengers and crew to be flung up into the air and back down, injuring them.
A 73-year-old Briton, Mr Geoffrey Kitchen, died of a suspected heart attack. Many others, including passengers from Malaysia and Australia, suffered serious injuries involving the head and spine. Crew members were injured too.
A medical emergency was declared, and the plane was diverted to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
In the immediate aftermath, several sources such as AccuWeather pointed to rapidly developing thunderstorms near SQ321’s flight path as a likely cause of the extreme turbulence.
The commercial weather forecaster noted then that such explosive thunderstorms often have strong currents of rising air, sometimes at more than 160kmh, which can cause a severe change in altitude in a short amount of time.
Some have questioned if Flight SQ321 could have avoided the turbulence, noting that other planes in the area had flown around the thunderstorms at the time.
Based on The Straits Times’ checks, for example, Swiss International Air Lines Flight LX181 from Bangkok to Zurich was flying in the same vicinity as SQ321 on May 21, 2024.
The national airline of Switzerland had told ST that its pilots made “significant course deviations” that day, using onboard weather radar to navigate around severe weather conditions.
Under Singapore law, the TSIB’s final report on the SQ321 incident will not be admissible as evidence in court, except during a coroner’s inquiry.
But its findings will likely colour what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle between SIA and the affected passengers, some of whom suffered life-changing injuries and remain scarred from the experience.
Even with the compensation offers it has made, the national carrier is set to face lawsuits that could span multiple countries.
Based on precedents, these are likely to end in confidential settlements, which could possibly go into millions of dollars for the serious cases, legal experts have said.
Claims against SIA must be settled or brought to court by the second anniversary of the SQ321 incident in 2026.
Reiterating earlier statements, an SIA spokesperson said on May 27 that the airline continues to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities in their investigations.
“The safety of our customers and staff remains SIA’s top priority,” it added.
- Kok Yufeng is a transport correspondent at The Straits Times.