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Passengers vow to boycott Boeing as it issues 'apology' over doomed Singapore Airlines flight
Passengers have vowed to double down on their boycott of Boeing after a Singapore Airlines flight ended in disaster when it hit turbulence, killing a passenger.
The aircraft hit an air pocket and plummeted 6,000ft in just five minutes during the flight from London to Singapore.
The sudden drop unleashed mayhem onboard and forced the plane to make an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.
British musical theatre director Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, died after he had a heart attack on the Boeing 777 plane on Tuesday.
Flyers have said they would steer clear of boarding Boeing jets after this latest disaster in a spate of well-publicized safety blunders involving the aviation giant's jets.
After the nightmare flight, Boeing said it was ready to 'support' Singapore Airlines and extended 'our deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew'.
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The sudden drop unleashed mayhem onboard and forced the plane to make an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi
Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, has since been identified as the British passenger who died aboard the Boeing 777 plane
On X/Twitter, users said they would never fly on a Boeing plane again.
One person wrote: 'I am never flying Boeing again', while another added, 'I'm actually never flying on a Boeing again'.
Another said: 'When I book a flight in 2024. Nonstop. Aisle seat. Not a Boeing plane. Then recheck number 3. Triple check it's not a Boeing.'
The Boeing share price took a hit this morning after the incident aboard the flight, but has since recovered, hitting a low of $183.11, before rising to $186.39.
Questions over safety have plagued the manufacturer ever since a door plug blew out of a 737 Max on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Exposed pipes are seen on the plane after Tuesday's emergency landing
The interior of Singapore Airline flight SG321 is pictured after Tuesday's emergency landing
Wine bottles, kettles and food trays are seen scattered across the floor of the cabin
After the cabin was emptied of passengers, footage (pictured) showed the aftermath of Tuesday's incident, with people's belongings and other items scattered throughout the plane
The crew's area on the plane is seen with items scattered over the floor and shelves
Photos were posted on social media by accounts claiming to show the aftermath of the emergency landing. One (left) purportedly showed food strewn across the floor, while another (right) was said to show the ambulances on the tarmac at the airport
A person is seen being carried away from the aircraft on a stretcher on Tuesday in Bangkok
Pilots were able to land the plane safely, but the incident has cast Boeing into its deepest crisis since the deadly crashes of two Max jets in 2018 and 2019, blamed on a substandard computer system.
Current and former Boeing employees have accused the company of taking safety shortcuts.
The Arlington, Virginia-based company is under investigations by the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Justice Department.
The flight experienced severe turbulence while flying close to Myanmar airspace in a region currently being battered by extreme tropical thunderstorms.
One man who said he was on the flight took to X to describe the incident onboard the flight.
Andrew Davies, from London, wrote that he and other passengers who were not injured in the turbulence were currently waiting in a holding area at the airport.
'Lots of people [are] injured - including the air stewards who were stoic and did everything they could,' he wrote.
Pictured: The plane and ambulances are seen on the tarmac at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok
Social media users have vowed to steer clear of boarding Boeing jets after the incident
'Bangkok emergency services [were] quick to respond. Very little warning. The seat-belt sign came on, I put on my seat-belt straight away then the plane just dropped.'
Davies wrote that 'passengers with medical training' were working to help the injured in the aftermath of the plane dropping.
'CPR on the poor gentleman that passed. Another passenger laid flat in [the] aisle further behind me. Not sure what happened with them,' he said.
'People's belongings scattered, coffee and water splattered the ceiling. Surreal. So many injured people. Head lacerations, bleeding ears. A lady was screaming in pain with a bad back. I couldn't help her - just got her water.'
He said that he wished he could have done more to help, adding: 'My heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life and his poor wife. Awful experience.'
More than 70 people were injured in the incident, with Mr Kitchen's wife Linda thought to be among those in hospital. Her condition is not known.
Tributes have poured in for Kitchen, who ran Thornbury Musical Theatre group and is said to be a grandfather, with friends describing him as 'a really nice guy'.
Passengers are seen on the Singapore Airlines plane after it made an emergency landing in Bangkok today. Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling, as did other components
Medical crew are seen aiding passengers in temporary tents set up at the airport on Tuesday
Passengers said Thai emergency services worked quickly to help those on board after the plane made an emergency landing
Flight tracking websites showed flight SQ321 diverting from its planned route to Singapore and instead landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. The plane is shown dropping 6,000 feet as it flies over Myanmar
This flight tracker showed the plane's route from London before diverting to Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok
The retired insurance worker and his wife were heading abroad on a six-week holiday of a lifetime to South East Asia, Indonesia and Australia when disaster struck.
Marco Chan, Senior Lecturer in Aviation Operations at Buckinghamshire New University, told DailyMail.com that incidents involving extreme turbulence tend to occur when a plane is navigating through thunderstorms.
On the plane involved in today's incident also being a Boeing, Mr Chan noted: 'The aircraft in question is a Boeing 777-300ER, a manufacturer that has already hit the headlines.
'It must be emphasized that such incidents can happen to any flights and any manufacturer's aircraft.'
Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the National Transportation Safety Board.
From 2009 through 2018, the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.
This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 8, 2024, in Portland, Oregon
Questions have been raised regarding the weather radar system used on the turbulent Singapore Airlines flight – with some claiming there are ‘known issues’ with the model.
It is unclear which system was in use but it is known this make of aircraft has previously used the Honeywell RDR-4000 weather radar.
It was first used in 2006 and was said to provide less signal loss and better turbulence detection.
However, an accident report by the Dutch Safety Board revealed an aircraft operated by Dutch airline Transavia in 2016 encountered unexpected turbulence flying from Amsterdam to Spain, resulting in ‘serious injury’ to three cabin crew.
The Honeywell RDR-4000 radar was being used on the flight.
The report stated that soon after the system was deployed across the fleet in 2009, the airline’s flight operations department ‘started receiving questions about the RDR-4000 and complaints regarding the [in]correct functioning of the weather radar’.
Honeywell provided an update in 2011 that it said ‘solved many of the outstanding issues’.
The report stated there was no indication the radar did not function properly during the Transavia flight.
Honeywell and Singapore Airlines have been contacted for comment.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun, who will step down at the end of the year, has said many times that Boeing is taking steps to improve its manufacturing quality and safety culture.
He called the blowout on the Alaska jet a 'watershed moment' from which a better Boeing will emerge. There is plenty of skepticism about comments like that.
The beleaguered aircraft manufacturer received just seven orders for planes last month, pushing the company further behind European rival Airbus.
In total, the company delivered 24 commercial airplanes over the month, which is down two on the 26 they handed over during a weak April last year.
In comparison, rivals Airbus have delivered 203 planes since the start of the year, compared to Boeing's 107.
The company's first Starliner mission to carry humans to space was also once again delayed to next week over issues with the spacecraft announced today.
The latest postponement until next week delays a program that is already years behind schedule and over $1.5billion over budget.
Full timeline of Boeing problems in 2024
January 5
On January 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 - a Boeing 737 Max 9 - lost a door plug at 16,000 feet on a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California.
That part is designed to replace an unneeded emergency exit door, and it blew out within just 20 minutes of takeoff.
An emergency landing was required and the plane landed safely, but a teddy bear, two mobile phones, a child's t-shirt were all said to have have flown out during the incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 of the 737 Max 9s in the aftermath and six of the flight's passengers went on to sue the airline.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines also went on to find loose parts on their grounded jets' door plugs.
On January 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 - a Boeing 737 Max 9 - lost a door plug at 16,000 feet on a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California
The missing door panel was found in a high school physics teacher's back yard
January 16
An anonymous whistleblower broke rank to say that the door plug blowout 'was Boeing's fault', rather than its supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
First reported by The Seattle Times, they claimed the fuselage panel was removed for repair then reinstalled improperly at its Washington factory
'The reason the door blew off is stated in black and white in Boeings own records,' they wrote on aviation site Leeham News.
'It is also very, very stupid and speaks volumes about the quality culture at certain portions of the business.'
February 6
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report said that the January 5 incident was down to four crucial bolds being missing from the panel which blew out.
February 21
Boeing's 737 Max program chief, Ed Clark, was reportedly fired in a structural shakeup at the company.
Clark was also general manager at the company's Renton, Washington, facility and had been at Boeing for 18 years.
He was replaced by Katie Ringgold, while a 'senior vice president of quality' role was created too.
March 3
A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 veered off the runway after landing in Houston due to some sort of gear collapse.
Shocking footage showed the plane lying flat on its wings on grass by the side of the runway, while passengers were hurried off from an emergency gate ladder.
A Boeing 737 Max operated by United Airlines veered off the tarmac into the grass when exiting the runway at George Bush Airport in Houston early Friday
March 4
An audit by the FAA of both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems 'found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements'.
March 6
The head of the NTSB accused Boeing of 'not cooperating' with its investigation into the January incident.
Jennifer Homendy said investigators sought the names of the 25 people who work on door plugs at the Renton facility, but had not received them from Boeing.
She told a Senate Committee hearing 'it is absurd that two months later we don't have it'.
However, Boeing spokesperson Connor Greenwood pushed back and insisted that names of employees were provided 'early in the investigation'.
The same day, a 737's engine caught fire in mid-air above Texas, causing an emergency landing minutes into its journey to Fort Myers, Florida.
March 7
A wheel fell off a Boeing 777-200 shortly after takeoff from San Francisco, crushing cars below.
The plane with 235 passengers and 14 crew diverted to Los Angeles Airport after it was alerted to the landing gear failure and landed safely with no further incident and no injuries reported on the ground.
March 9
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62 - a former quality control manager and employee of 32 years - was found dead in his truck outside a South Carolina hotel days after testifying against the company in a lawsuit.
The coroner put it down to a 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound in the head, though the police confirmed that they would investigate further.
Barnett had made a string of complaints to his higher-ups in his time as a quality control manager before leaving the company on health grounds in 2017.
In January 2024, he appeared on TMZ to say that the 737 Max 9 aircraft were being launched back into the air too soon in the wake of the accident, suggesting corners had been cut.
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found dead in his truck outside a South Carolina hotel days after testifying against his former employer
March 11
A Boeing 777 was was forced to land due to hydraulic fluid spewing from its landing gear area.
The forced landing happened as the San Francisco-bound 777-300 embarked from Sydney, with fluid filmed leaking from its undercarriage.
March 15
A United Airlines 737 was grounded after it was found to be missing a panel after it touched down successfully in Medford Airport, Oregon, despite the missing part.
March 20
A Boeing 737 900 bound for Atlanta was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing after an engine blow out on take-off from Aruba.
The Delta flight circled the Caribbean island four times before coming back into land following the 'mechanical issue'.
March 29
United Airlines flight 990 - a Boeing 777-200 - from San Francisco to Paris had to touch down early in Denver after engine problems.
April 4
Alaska Airlines announced that they had received $160 million in compensation from Boeing after their 737 Max 9s were grounded following the January 5 door blowout.
The amount was equal to the revenue lost according to a filing from the airline, but Alaska added that it anticipated receiving extra compensation too.
April 10
Another whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, came forward in a Senate committee hearing to accuse Boeing of taking shortcuts when building its 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets and added that the company had retaliated against him when he raised concerns.
He doubled down on the claims a week later, adding on NBC that 787s should be grounded fearing 'fatal flaws' which could case them to fall apart mid-air.
In a 1,500 word statement, Boeing said it was 'fully confident' in the 787 and called concerns about structural integrity 'inaccurate.'
Pictured: Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour testifies before the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations on April 17
April 11
An internal Boeing review in response to an initial Wall Street Journal investigation found that CEO Dave Calhoun and other bosses at the aviation firm spent $500,000 on company private jets for personal trips which were improperly recorded as business travel.
Boeing's review concluded that some of the flights taken by executives in 2021 and 2022 'were not previously classified as perquisites by the company'.
In the company's proxy filing on April 5, Boeing said that these flights 'should have been classified as such in accordance with SEC rules and guidance'.
April 16
United Airlines indicated it will reduce reliance on Boeing after announcing a $124m loss in the first quarter of 2024, which it blamed on the scandal-laden manufacturer.
April 24
Boeing's CEO assured investors after a first-quarter loss of $355m was announced which coincided with a six per cent dip in share prices.
Calhoun added that he had a successor lined up for his departure at the end of 2024 who would come from inside the company.
April 26
Delta flight 520 was forced to make an emergency landing at JFK Airport when an emergency slide fell off the Boeing 767 an hour into its journey to Los Angeles.
FAA records indicated that the plane was 33 years old.
April 30
Joshua Dean (pictured) died suddenly on April 30 aged 45 having raised the alarm about supposed defects in 737 Max jets
Dean was employed by Spirit AeroSystems based in Wichita, Kansas
A second whistleblower, Joshua Dean, died suddenly aged 45 having raised the alarm about supposed defects in 737 Max jets.
The former Spirit employee previously said he was fired from his quality auditing role for questioning standards at the supplier's plant in Wichita, Kansas, in October 2022.
His family said on social media that Dean died in hospital after a sudden illness.
Earlier in 2024, Dean spoke with NPR about being fired. 'I think they were sending out a message to anybody else. If you are too loud, we will silence you,' he said.
May 6
The US Federal Aviation Administration revealed it has opened an investigation into Boeing after the company reported that workers at a South Carolina plant falsified inspection records on certain 787 planes.
Boeing said its engineers have determined that misconduct did not create 'an immediate safety of flight issue'.
No planes have been taken out of service, but having to perform the test out of order on planes will slow the delivery of jets still being built at the final assembly plant in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Boeing must also create a plan to address planes that are already flying, the FAA said.
Shocking footage showed the moment the plane attempted an emergency landing, smashing down into the runway and scraping its nose along the concrete
May 8
A FedEx Airlines Boeing cargo plane landed at Istanbul Airport without the front landing gear deployed and managed to stay on the runway, Turkey's transport ministry said, adding that there were no casualties.
The Boeing 767 aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, informed the traffic control tower at Istanbul Airport that its landing gear failed to open and it landed with guidance from the tower, the ministry said in its statement.
Airport rescue and fire fighting teams made necessary preparations on the runway before landing, and no one was injured, the ministry also said, without giving a reason for the failure.
Footage showed sparks flying and smoke billowing as the front end of the plane scraped along the runway before being doused with firefighting foam.
May 9
A Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 plane's front tire burst upon landing at an airport in southern Turkey on Thursday, the Turkish transport minister said, adding there were no casualties and all 190 passengers and crew were evacuated.
The front landing gear strut was damaged on the Corendon Airlines plane, arriving from Cologne, Germany, as it landed at Alanya-Gazipasa airport in Antalya.
The same day, a Boeing passenger plane came off the runway during takeoff from Dakar international airport, injuring 11 people and shutting the hub for hours.
A Boeing 738 plane of Corendon Airlines that operated Cologne-Antalya flight gets stuck on runway due to a burst tire in Antalya, Turkiye on May 9, 2024
Pictures from the scene in Turkey showed the stationary aircraft on the tarmac flanked by emergency vehicles - its front wheels and landing gear crumpled underneath. Corendon Airlines denied Turkish reports that the aircraft had landed on its nose
In this grab taken from video people jump down emergency slides, running from a plane, in Dakar, Senegal, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. A Boeing 737 plane carrying 85 people caught fire and skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 11 people
The Air Senegal flight was bound for the Malian capital Bamako and had 78 passengers on board, plus a crew of six including two pilots, airport management company LAS said in a statement.
Images showed the aircraft in an overgrown area with first aiders surrounding an injured person. Smoke and flames are also visible near the plane.
Also on May 9, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating statements made by Boeing Co. about its safety practices after a mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX flight in January.
The SEC will examine whether the planemaker or its executives misled investors in violation of the Wall Street regulator's rules, the report said, citing three people familiar with the development.
May 14
Boeing has violated a settlement that allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft more than five years ago, the Justice Department told a federal judge.
It is now up to the Justice Department (DOJ) to decide whether to file charges against Boeing. Prosecutors will tell the court no later than July 7 how they plan to proceed, the department said.
May 21
One person died and others were injured on a flight from London to Singapore which plummeted 6,000ft in five minutes before making an emergency landing in Thailand.
The Boeing 777 plane operated by Singapore Airlines left the UK's Heathrow airport on Monday evening at 22.17pm local time with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
However, flight SQ321 experienced severe turbulence while flying close to Myanmar airspace in a region being battered by extreme tropical thunderstorms.
Pictured: Passengers are seen in the cabin after the incident on Tuesday, with belongings strewn across the floor and oxygen masks dangling from above
Passengers are seen on the Singapore Airlines plane after it made an emergency landing in Bangkok on Tuesday. Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling, as did other components
Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, (pictured) who ran the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group in Bristol, was on board the plane when the incident happened
After around 11 hours of flying time from take off in London, the aircraft sharply dropped from an altitude of around 37,000 feet to 31,000 feet within just five minutes as it finished traversing the Andaman Sea and neared Thailand.
Boeing said: 'We are in contact with Singapore Airlines regarding flight SQ321 and stand ready to support them.
'We extend our deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.'