It’s the mid-air scare that had the whole world talking.
And now a new documentary, coming to Seven this Monday, is lifting the lid on exactly what transpired aboard Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321, which experienced extreme turbulence during its flight from London to Singapore, resulting in 104 injuries and the suspected heart attack death of one passenger.
Turbulence: How Safe Is Your Flight takes a deep dive into the real-life drama that unfolded 10 hours into the flight.
It interviews passengers aboard when the plane unexpectedly hit a patch of clear air turbulence at 37,000 feet, hurling those not strapped into their seatbelts throughout the cabin.
User-generated video and photos are used to capture the chaos that saw the hospitalisation of dozens of passengers for injuries sustained, including spinal and head injuries, after the plane performed an emergency landing in Bangkok.
“What I remember is being glued to the ceiling and seeing people fly out like me,” said passenger Iago Pereda, who is pictured in the documentary wearing a neck brace months on from the accident.
“From that moment on, what I remember is immense pain.
“We thought this would be the end for us.
“I remember my life flashing before my eyes, and I looked at my husband and I saw the terror on his face,” another passenger, Ramiza Bukhari, says in the film.
The one-hour documentary takes a look at what happened, minute by minute, using interviews with seasoned pilots, air crew and leading aviation and climate scientists to investigate why the natural phenomena occurred — and why incidents like this are on the rise due to climate change.
It delves into the science and impact of turbulence, examining what pilots are trained to do to navigate through the invisible dangers, “and how the aviation industry is developing technology to not only better detect turbulence but counter its effects and learn vital tips on how passengers can enhance their safety during turbulent flights”.
According to data featured in the film, there has been a 50 per cent uplift in severe turbulence events since the 1970s.
Between 2011 and 2024, there were 248 cases where at least one passenger was seriously injured, and virtually no airline has been unaffected.