‘It felt like we had crashed’: Singapore Air passenger describes turbulence terror

A staff member, left, from British Embassy arrives at Samitivej Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. A Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) in about three minutes, the carrier said Tuesday. A British man died and authorities said dozens of passengers were injured, some severely. - AP

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): One moment Toby Pearl was ensconced in his economy-class seat in row 43 aboard a flight from London to Singapore. The next all hell broke loose, with personal belongings, food and even people being hurled around the cabin, crashing into overhead lockers and causing oxygen masks to deploy from the ceiling.

The massive Boeing Co. 777 aircraft operated by Singapore Airlines Ltd. had hit a pocket of turbulence so violent that it left one person dead and scores of others seriously injured. Pearl said he was among passengers who rushed to provide first aid immediately after the impact, but they were unable to help a 73 year-old Briton, who died of a suspected heart attack.