This is how much compensation Singapore Airlines is offering passengers hurt on deadly flight
Singapore Airlines announced Tuesday that it is offering at least $10,000 compensation to passengers injured in the deadly flight that plummeted during severe turbulence last month.
The carrier said that the surviving 210 passengers were all being fully refunded for the May 20 flight that was forced to make an emergency landing in Thailand, with an elderly man dead and dozens hurt from being tossed around the cabin.
Those suffering minor injuries are being offered $10,000 cash — while those with more serious injuries requiring long-term medical care and financial assistance will get a $25,000 advance, the airline added.
“For those who sustained more serious injuries from the incident, we have invited them to discuss a compensation offer to meet each of their specific circumstances when they feel well and ready to do so,” the airline said in a statement.
For those getting the higher advance for help, “This will be part of the final compensation that these passengers will receive,” the statement said.
The Boeing 777 jet was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Thailand after striking turbulence en route from London to Singapore on May 20.
A 73-year-old British man, Geoff Kitchen, died of a suspected heart attack and other passengers were hospitalized with spinal, brain and bone injuries after a slew of unrestrained travelers were sent crashing into overhead bins when the plane suddenly plunged.
A preliminary probe by Singapore’s Transport Ministry found that plane went through huge swings in gravitational force during the flight — causing a drop in altitude of roughly 177ft in less than one second.
The sudden drop likely caused unrestrained passengers and crew to become airborne, investigators said.
Officials had previously said the turbulence was believed to have struck when meals were being served and many people were not using seat belts.
In the immediate aftermath, passengers recalled the “sheer terror” of the plane shuddering as it took a “dramatic drop.”
“Everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling, some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it,” Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student, said at the time.
“The crew and people inside lavatories were hurt the most because we discovered people just on the ground not able to get up,” he continued. “There were a lot of spinal and head injuries.”
Another passenger, Andrew Davies, recalled how those with medical training were desperately trying to render aid — including to Kitchen, who died on board after authorities say he suffered a heart attack.
Photos circulating online showed terrified passengers gripping their seats and a flight attendant bleeding from her nose in the aftermath of the turbulence.
Other images showed food and debris strewn throughout the aircraft, as well as huge dents in the overhead bins where passengers had crashed through.
With Post wires
