Immediate Response to SQ 321 22 May 2024

 

A 16 year old  Boeing 777 ER on flight at 37000 feet on 21 May 2024 over the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar experienced a sudden encounter with a clear air turbulence.  The aircraft tilted up and then fell dramatically for a very short time, causing spinal and head injuries to 53 passengers and one crew member who were not belted up.  A British subject unfortunately had a heart attack and died.

The injured were thrown up in dramatic fashion against overhead lockers or projected upwards while walking in the aisle or using the toilets.

The plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok.  SQ231 was flying from London enroute to Changi.   Breakfast was served on board when the plane encountered the severe turbulence on a route used by several airlines.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport rose to the occasion by offering interim triage to injured passengers on the tarmac once the affected plane landed.

All eyes are on SQ now as to how they handle the aftermath for passengers, crew, airline reputation, aircraft safety and more.

One of the five key pillars for the nation of Singapore is air travel and  SQ.

I reckon the others are the vibrancy of its financial hub,
shipping port, innovation and good governance.This incident can be described as s black swan in risk management speak.

Such a black swan is seen as an unlikely event but when it happens, creates a significant impact.

For passengers and crew, is it covered by air travel insurance? The CEO of SQ immediately offered
an apology on Facebook.

Both the President of the island Republic and its newly sworn in Prime Minister also provided clear unconditional apologies in public as well.

Effective and timely open communication is a hallmark of good businesses and governance.

The official Singapore response and tone from the top is immediately not to get into any blame game, not to push underlings to speak and not to keep quiet in the first critical hours after the incident.  SQ and the Government of the Red Dot moved fast to navigate a business like yet caring response.

The official communication given soon after this event was not just aimed at the passengers and crew aboard this flight, but also for the whole cohort of other existing and potential members of its world wide market.

A quarter of the passengers on the flight hold Australian passports, another almost quarter are Singaporean.  Many boarded SQ231 to ultimately head to Australia.

I noticed the efficient transfer by 22 May on charter flight of uninjured passengers from Bangkok to Changi.

Although there was some uncertainty from the incident, SQ worked on the facts, concentrated on taking care of passengers plus cabin crew and methodically mopped up.

No cabin crew or pilot, aboard the SQ 231 flight from London scheduled to Singapore, spoke or wrote on social media.

SQ ensured any speculation on public media was minimised.

As usual, so called air travel experts appeared on broadcasted media overseas chatting of the possible why and how.

SBS free to air in Australia mentioned that Singapore Airlines had a record of only 3 fatalities during operations  in the past 25 years.

#yongkevthoughts

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