Who Was Geoff Kitchen, The Passenger Who Died In Singapore Airlines Turbulence?

A 73-year-old British passenger has died following an incident of "sudden extreme turbulence" experienced by a Singapore Airlines flight from London on Tuesday, necessitating an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand. Over 80 individuals sustained injuries.

The aircraft, which was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, descended 6,000 feet within a span of just three minutes before it made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Medical personnel were on hand to transport the injured to awaiting ambulances using gurneys.

The deceased passenger has been identified by British media as Geoff Kitchen, a grandfather who was originally from Bristol and had settled in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, as reported by The Guardian. He was travelling with his wife, Linda, and had embarked on the Singapore Airlines flight from London's Heathrow Airport on Monday night. His wife was among those taken to the hospital in Bangkok.

Kitchen and his wife had planned a six-week holiday in Asia and Australia. Their neighbour, Jill Dimond, mentioned to The Sun that the couple intended to visit Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, and Australia. "We are really upset. My wife is upstairs crying," Dimond said.

An official from Bangkok Airport suggested that Kitchen might have suffered a heart attack, although this had not been confirmed. According to his neighbour, Kitchen had a history of heart problems and had recently undergone a procedure to have stents placed to widen his arteries.

In his professional life, Kitchen was a retired insurance industry professional who remained active in amateur theatre during his retirement. He had founded the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group and had been deeply involved with it. A heartfelt tribute was posted on Facebook by the group: "Geoff was always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity and always did what was right for the group." The group noted that Kitchen had served the community of Thornbury for over 35 years, holding various positions including chairman, treasurer, and most recently, secretary.

Kitchen is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.