Man injured on Singapore Airlines flight says ordeal was ‘like a movie’

A passenger on board the turbulent Singapore Airlines flight that killed a Briton says he will not be able to continue working as an engineer after suffering life-changing injuries. Bradley Richards, 29, was left with six fractures to his spine and neck and internal bleeding.

He was traveling on flight SQ321, from London to Singapore, when it was hit by turbulence over Myanmar. Geoff Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, near Bristol, died of a suspected heart attack, while many others were left with injuries.

Bradley thinks he was knocked down and woke up with blood pouring from his head. After using a pillow to stem the flow of blood, he says he “immediately felt pain in his spine” and had to be lifted into a wheelchair when the plane landed in Bangkok.

The telecommunications engineer from Benfleet, Essex, described the experience as “something out of a movie”. And he believes his injuries mean he will potentially have to find a new line of work when he fully recovers.

Early findings by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) show that the plane experienced rapid up and down acceleration, causing injuries to those not wearing seat belts. Bradley said: “I was asleep or I think I might have been unconscious when it happened.

“I remember waking up and my head was bleeding, kids were screaming, people were running everywhere, it was so frantic. It was like something out of a movie.

“I remember immediately feeling the pain in my back and the blood just coming out of my head. I tried using my pillow to stop the blood – one of those they hand out on flights.

“Once we landed, I was near the back of the plane and I remember the medical staff running and having to step over all the injured people on the floor. They couldn’t get me a stretcher, so I was helped off the plane. .

“I told them about my back pain and the workers had to pick me up, support me under my armpits and put me in a wheelchair. he might not have understood because of the chaos going on.

“I was just a bit quiet afterwards to be honest – it all felt so surreal. I didn’t scream or anything. It was just so traumatic. When I came and saw people on the floor, lying on stretchers – as I say , it felt like something out of a movie, not real life.”

Doctors told Bradley it was unlikely he would be able to return to work in his current role as an engineer. He said: “It’s just disgusting – I worked in that role for seven years and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

Bradley received treatment in a hospital in Bangkok and is currently unsure when he will be able to return to the UK. He suffered multiple fractures to his spine and neck, a spinal epidural hematoma and a head laceration that required 20 stitches.

Bradley said: “It hasn’t been pleasant I can assure you, but I’m doing my best to stay positive and the airline and the hospital have been so good to me that the health care is second to none.” TSIB’s preliminary investigation findings show that the plane fell 178 ft (54 m) in just four seconds.

The agency says it likely caused injuries to crew and passengers. Authorities believe Mr Kitchen died of a suspected heart attack after the extreme turbulence.

He was traveling with his wife for a six-week holiday in Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. Bradley’s GoFundMe to support his recovery can be found here.