A 73-year-old British man died and more than 70 people were injured on May 21 in what passengers described as a terrifying scene aboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 that hit severe turbulence, triggering an emergency landing in Bangkok.
“While meteorologists have excellent tools to forecast turbulence, they are not perfect,” said Thomas Guinn, professor in the aviation department at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.
Turbulence continues to be a major cause of accidents and injuries despite a steady improvement in aviation accident rates, according to a 2021 report by the US National Transportation Safety Board.But deaths linked to turbulence on commercial flights are “very rare,” said Dr Paul Williams, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading.