Monday, September 16, 2024

Aussie couple hurt in deadly turbulence flight reveal struggle

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Adelaide couple Keith Davis and Kerry Jordan have finally arrived home from Thailand after their terrifying experience on board a turbulent Singapore Airlines flight.

Jordan, a dance teacher, still has no feeling from the waist down after suffering a spinal injury during the flight and Davis remains battered and bruised.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Couple returns to Adelaide to recover following nightmare Singapore Airlines flight.

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The Marino couple managed to organise an air ambulance flight home to Adelaide this week, where Jordan is expected to continue her long road to recovery.

“I am humbled by Kerry’s strength and courage to endure such a trial over the last week,” Davis told 7NEWS on Friday.

“I know this strength and courage will continue to carry us through.

“Kerry sends her love and asks we all give her the space and time she needs as she begins the delicate negotiations of her recovery.”

Flight SQ321, flying from London to Singapore on May 21, encountered sudden and extreme turbulence over Myanmar, throwing passengers and crew around the cabin and slamming some into the ceiling.

A 73-year-old passenger died of a suspected heart attack and dozens were injured in the incident.

The Boeing 777-300ER plane — carrying 211 passengers, including 56 Australians and 18 crew — was diverted to Bangkok.

Jordan underwent emergency surgery and had “no feeling from her waist down”, Davis said last week.

The couple had been on their first holiday since the COVID pandemic.

Keith Davis and Kerry Jordan have finally returned home to Adelaide.
Keith Davis and Kerry Jordan have finally returned home to Adelaide. Credit: 7NEWS
Keith Davis said he was ‘humbled by Kerry’s strength and courage’.
Keith Davis said he was ‘humbled by Kerry’s strength and courage’. Credit: 7NEWS

Preliminary findings from an investigation into the flight show a rapid change in gravitational force and a 54m altitude drop caused injuries.

“The aircraft experienced a rapid change in G (gravitational force) … This likely resulted in the occupants who were not belted up to become airborne,” the transport ministry said in a statement on the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau report released this week.

“The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within four seconds.

“This likely resulted in the occupants who were airborne to fall back down,” it said, citing information extracted from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.

“The rapid changes in G over the 4.6 seconds duration resulted in an altitude drop of 178ft (54m), from 37,362ft to 37,184ft. This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers.”

Davis and Jordan both spent time in hospital, with the dance teacher facing a long road to recovery.
Davis and Jordan both spent time in hospital, with the dance teacher facing a long road to recovery. Credit: 7NEWS
The interior of the Singapore Airlines flight following severe turbulence.
The interior of the Singapore Airlines flight following severe turbulence. Credit: REUTERS via CNN

Shaken passengers described scenes of chaos in the minutes after the incident, with the turbulence throwing people upwards, then into the aisle.

Many were left with bleeding and head wounds.

“We were on the ceiling, and then wham we hit the floor, and we’re thinking ‘what the hell has happened?’,” Davis said previously.

Singapore Airlines said it acknowledged the report and was co-operating fully with the investigation.

“We are committed to supporting our passengers and crew members who were on board SQ321 on that day, as well as their families and loved ones,” it said.

The airline late on Tuesday said 42 people who were on board the flight were still in Bangkok, including 26 passengers receiving medical treatment in hospital.

Among those initially hospitalised were patients with spinal cord injuries and some with brain and skull injuries, according to Thai medical officials.

– With AP and AAP

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