Who is Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen who died of a heart attack during turbulence in SQ321 Singapore Airlines flight as seen in viral video

Who is Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen who died of a heart attack during turbulence in SQ321 Singapore Airlines flight as seen in viral video

Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen, a 73-year-old British grandfather, has been named as the individual who died following a heart attack during severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight

The Incident occurred when the plane, bound for Singapore, rapidly descended to 31,000 feet over approximately three minutes.

The flight had to make an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.

Who is British man Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen who died of a heart attack during turbulence in SQ321 Singapore Airlines flight as seen in viral video

Authorities confirmed that British man 73 year old Mr. Kitchen, from Thornbury, suffered a heart attack after being thrown from side to side when the Boeing 777 encountered treacherous conditions.

Who was Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen?

Geoffrey, who was retired and led a musical theatre group, died onboard flight SQ321 before the emergency landing. His wife, also injured during the turbulence, is currently receiving treatment at the hospital.

As per reports, Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen was born in March 1951 and resided in Thornbury, Bristol, England.

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The British national was the director of Thornbury Musical Theatre Group Limited, a private company that Geoffrey incorporated in 2008.

The reports suggest that Mr. Kitchen’s body has been moved to a police hospital for a post-mortem examination. Airport Director Kittipong Kittikachorn confirmed the details of Mr. Kitchen’s death, which was also documented in a police report on the incident.

Singapore Airlines Release Statement

Singapore Airlines reported that the flight was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members. In a statement, Singapore Airlines expressed its deepest condolences to Mr. Kitchen’s family and announced their cooperation with Thai authorities.


The statement posted on the official X account of the airline reads, “Singapore Airlines flight #SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 20 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time on 21 May 2024.

We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.”

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The Airlines also released an update on social media, listing the nationalities of the passengers.

It states, “56 from Australia, two from Canada, one from Germany, three from India, two from Indonesia, one from Iceland, four from Ireland, one from Israel, 16 from Malaysia, two from Myanmar, 23 from New Zealand, five from the Philippines, 41 from Singapore, one from South Korea, two from Spain, 47 from the United Kingdom, and four from the United States.”

Media reports indicated that the plane encountered turbulence at approximately 8:49 am BST while flying over Myanmar.

The flight tracking data showed a “rapid change in vertical rate, consistent with a sudden turbulence event,” noting severe thunderstorms in the area at the time.

What Did Passengers Reveal?

A London passenger named Andrew described the experience stating that the seat belt sign came on just before the plane suddenly dropped.

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He recalled seeing objects flying through the air and being covered in coffee, describing the turbulence as incredibly severe. He also mentioned hearing “awful screaming” and a “thud” as the plane descended.

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