A couple injured when a Singapore Airlines flight was hit by severe turbulence finally made it home; The husband said he felt “guilty” for the serious injuries his wife suffered in the terrifying incident.
Keith Davis, 59, from Adelaide, and his wife Kerry Jordan were returning home from a holiday in the UK when flight SQ321 suddenly fell 54 meters in just 4.6 seconds.
The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft carrying 211 passengers, including 56 Australians and 18 crew, was traveling from London to Singapore on May 23.
The passengers were thrown to the roof and suffered serious injuries, while Briton Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, died of a suspected heart attack.
After encountering turbulence over Myanmar, the plane was diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing.
Thirty passengers were taken to hospital, seven of them in critical condition.
Davis is recovering from superficial injuries including cuts and bruises, while his wife Kerry, a dance teacher at Mitcham Girls High School, suffered a serious spinal injury and lost sensation below the waist in the horrific incident.
Davis is recovering from superficial injuries that include cuts and bruises. “To be very frank, personally, I feel very guilty about being able to be here and walk and talk to you,” she said outside the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Keith Davis (pictured), 59, from Adelaide and his wife Kerry Jordan (pictured) were returning home from a holiday in the UK.
Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 suddenly fell 54 meters in just 4.6 seconds after encountering severe turbulence over Myanmar.
Although he was very happy to be home, Mr Davis (pictured) said his main focus was his wife.
The couple arrived in Adelaide on Wednesday and Ms Jordan was admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Although he was very happy to be home, Davis said his main focus was on his wife, who has a “serious spinal injury” and still doesn’t feel anything from the waist down.
“In terms of his condition, we are maximizing what we can achieve… but we are not talking about days, we are not talking about weeks, we are talking about months, if not beyond that,” he said during a press conference at the RAH.
“Kerry is still suffering from the physical trauma… but we are really grateful to be home and have all that family and love.”
Mr. Davis expressed his guilt because he is fine, but his wife is not.
‘To be very frank, personally, I feel very guilty about being able to be here and walk and talk to you.
“I am absolutely humbled by Kerry’s strength and courage in enduring the ordeal of the last week – it has been phenomenal and I know that strength and courage will continue to see us through,” he said. “In terms of post-op, it was a good result to stabilize her.”
Davies said that even after what they had been through, his wife “still carried the essence of who she is” and that at the end of the day “Kerry is still Kerry.”
He praised LifeFlight’s “magnificent work in repatriating them from Thailand.”
Davis had previously criticized Singapore Airlines after the couple was admitted to a Bangkok hospital.
He said they had not received any communication from them about what they had to do.
“I called Singapore Airlines as soon as we were admitted to the hospital and they said they would call back. Then I called them again that night and they said they would call me back,” he told The Advertiser.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong contacted the couple a day later and spoke to three Australians who were in ICU.
Preliminary results of an investigation into the Singapore Airlines flight reveal that a rapid change in gravitational force and an altitude drop of 54 m was the cause of the catastrophic injuries.
“The plane experienced a rapid change in G (gravitational force)… This likely caused the unbelted occupants to become airborne,” Singapore’s Transport Ministry said in a statement about a Bureau report. of Transportation Safety Investigation.
‘Vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G in four seconds.
“This likely caused the airborne occupants to fall back down,” he said, citing information gleaned from flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
‘The rapid changes in G during the 4.6-second duration resulted in an altitude drop of 178 feet (54 m), from 37,362 feet to 37,184 feet. This sequence of events likely caused injuries to the crew and passengers.
The report was conducted by a team made up of Singapore researchers, Boeing representatives and US security officials.
Singapore Airlines has acknowledged the report and is cooperating fully with the investigation.
