UK man who died on SQ321 suffered cardiac arrest due to 'physiological effect' of turbulence, inquest told
The coroner noted that the man had a history of heart disease, which could increase the risk of death during plane turbulence.
A British man, Geoff Kitchen, died during Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 in 2024 due to a cardiac arrest caused by the physiological effect of severe turbulence, a UK inquest has concluded. The flight from London to Singapore experienced drastic changes in altitude within 4.6 seconds on May 20, 2024. Kitchen, who was 73 at the time, had a history of coronary artery disease but was cleared of health problems in 2023.
He was travelling with his wife, Linda Kitchen, 74, for a six-week holiday in Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia. The inquest heard that Kitchen was thrown from his seat and landed on an adjacent passenger during the turbulence. The pathologist's report suggested that prior heart disease could increase the risk of sudden death during aircraft turbulence incidents due to the stress caused by adrenaline release.
However, assistant coroner Peter Harrowing concluded that the physiological effect of the turbulence precipitated Kitchen's cardiac arrest and death. Linda Kitchen, the widow, initiated legal proceedings against Singapore Airlines at Britain's High Court to seek damages for her spinal fractures sustained in the incident, which required a 10-day hospital stay in Bangkok followed by another week in Bristol.
Singapore Airlines' report stated that the pilots' response was understandable and appropriate, and they could not rule out the possibility of an onboard weather radar malfunction preventing them from detecting storm clouds along the flight path. The company's CEO later apologized to the passengers.
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