Passenger died after severe turbulence on aeroplane, inquest told
Singapore Airlines flight faced unexpected turbulence leading to fatality
Last updated 23rd Sep 2026
A British passenger suffered a fatal cardiac arrest when the aeroplane he was travelling in experienced severe turbulence, an inquest has heard.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, south Gloucestershire, was on a Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Singapore on May 21 in 2024.
Avon Coroners’ Court heard Mr Kitchen was seated next to his wife Linda when the Boeing 777 plane encountered severe turbulence while approaching the south western region of Myanmar.
The plane was diverted to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, where Mr Kitchen was pronounced dead.
His wife, who sustained serious injuries, was taken to hospital with dozens of other passengers.
Dr Peter Harrowing, assistant coroner for Avon, reached a narrative conclusion following the hearing into Mr Kitchen’s death on Wednesday.
“On the morning of 21 May 2024, Geoff Kitchen, who had a history of coronary artery disease, was a passenger on a commercial flight from London to Singapore,” Dr Harrowing said.
“It encountered severe turbulence.
“Mr Kitchen was thrown from his seat and landed on an adjacent passenger.
“He was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
“The aircraft was diverted and landed at an airport in Bangkok, where Mr Kitchen was confirmed deceased.
“Geoff Kitchen died of cardiac failure as a result of the aircraft he was a passenger on encountering severe turbulence.”
Mr Kitchen, a retired insurance professional and his wife, a retired careers adviser, had left Heathrow airport for a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
In a statement read to the inquest, Mrs Kitchen, who is 74, described how she had been sitting in her assigned seat and wearing her seatbelt when the incident happened.
She said her husband had been listening to a podcast when she began to feel turbulence, before a “huge drop or lunge” and she experienced “incredible pain”.
“I realised my husband was pressing me to the side and that’s what caused the injury to my back,” she told the hearing.
“I carried on screaming. Eventually, two passengers lifted my husband off me. He was unconscious. I was in a lot of pain.”
Mrs Kitchen described how she was “bleeding profusely” from a head wound and was moved across the aisle by passengers.
“My husband was moved to the front of the section and placed on the floor,” she said.
“Many people helped to give my husband CPR.
“No-one told me that my husband had died.
“After landing, I was placed on a red stretcher.”
Mrs Kitchen was not informed of her husband’s death until two days later.
She spent 10 days in hospital before being airlifted back to Bristol, where she spent a further week in hospital.
An initial post-mortem examination in Thailand found Mr Kitchen had died from congestive heart failure.
The inquest heard he had undergone an operation to fit stents to his right coronary artery in April 2019.
However, a review in October that year found he had returned to “normal exercise capacity”, a statement from his GP said.
Dr Edward Sheffield, a consultant pathologist, performed a post mortem on Mr Kitchen’s body in Bristol.
He gave the cause of death as cardiac failure due to coronary artery atheroma and the physiological effects of airplane turbulence.
A report into the incident, which Dr Harrowing partially read, said 56 people had been seriously injured, 23 had received minor injuries and one person, Mr Kitchen, had died.
“The aircraft was cruising at 37,000ft when it was approaching the west coast of south-western Myanmar,” Dr Harrowing read.
“At 7.49am, the aircraft flew past a waypoint when the aircraft experienced severe turbulence.
“By 7.53am, the aircraft had stabilised.”
The crew reported the severe turbulence, with a Mayday call made at 8.01am along with a request to divert to Bangkok.
At 8.45am, the plane landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport, where it was met by medical personnel. Mr Kitchen was pronounced dead.
The coroner said: “I am satisfied that it was the physiological effect of the aircraft turbulence which precipitated the cardiac arrest and ultimately Geoff’s demise.”
Mrs Kitchen – who sustained spinal fractures in the incident – has instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, which has issued High Court proceedings for damages against Singapore Airlines.
In a statement released through the law firm, she described how “absolutely devastating” her husband’s death had been for herself and the couple’s two children and four grandchildren.
“Losing Geoff was a crushing blow to the whole family as we all thought he would be around to see his grandchildren grow up,” she said.
“We had a happy and fulfilled marriage and now I’ve lost my soulmate.”
Anthe Korelidou, the specialist aviation lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said the experience of Mrs Kitchen and other passengers during the flight was “extremely traumatic”.
“While it’s more than two years since Geoff’s death, Linda and the rest of her family continue to have a number of questions and concerns about what happened and if more could have been done to prevent their injuries,” she said.
“All Linda wants is for the most thorough investigations to be conducted. The issuing of High Court proceedings is a major milestone in being able to provide Geoff’s loved ones with the answers they deserve.”