A Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence experienced a rapid change in gravitational force and a 54m (178ft) altitude drop in four seconds, an investigation has found.
It comes after a 73-year-old British man died from a suspected heart attack after the incident on 21 May on the London-Singapore flight.
Dozens more were injured after passengers described people being "launched into the ceiling" and overhead lockers - with 28 people still in Thai hospitals after making an emergency landing.
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau said: "The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within 4 seconds. This likely resulted in the occupants who were airborne to fall back down."
It added: "The rapid changes in G over the 4.6 seconds duration resulted in an altitude drop of 178ft (54m), from 37,362 ft to 37,184ft. This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers."
Last week, Singapore Airlines said the pilot declared a medical emergency and landed in Bangkok after "sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000ft about 10 hours after departure".
Passenger Dzafran Azmir, 28, described the chaos on board.
"Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening," he said.
"And very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelts was launched immediately into the ceiling."
"Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it," he added.
"They hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it."
Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines said on Wednesday it would require passengers to fasten their seatbelts at all times during flights, even when the seat belt sign is off, starting from Thursday.
The company said it's not a mandatory requirement but a precautionary measure for passenger safety.
Singapore Airlines said it acknowledged the report and was cooperating fully with the investigation.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
