A couple injured when a Singapore Airlines flight was hit by severe turbulence has finally arrived home. The man said he felt ‘guilty’ for the serious injury his wife suffered in the terrifying incident.
Keith Davis, 59, from Adelaide, and his wife Kerry Jordan were returning home from a holiday in Britain when flight SQ321 suddenly plummeted 54 meters in just 4.6 seconds.
The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with 211 passengers on board, including 56 Australians and 18 crew members, was en route from London to Singapore on May 23.
Passengers were thrown into the ceiling and suffered serious injuries, while 73-year-old British man Geoffrey Kitchen 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 whom were in critical condition.
Mr 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 cord injury and lost feeling below the waist in the horrific incident.
Mr Davis is recovering from superficial injuries including cuts and bruises. “To be completely honest, personally I feel very guilty that I can stand here and walk around and talk to you guys,” he 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 Britain
Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 suddenly plunged 54 meters in just 4.6 seconds after severe turbulence over Myanmar
Although he was thrilled to be home, Mr Davis (pictured) said his wife was the main focus
The couple arrived in Adelaide on Wednesday, where Mrs Jordan was admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Although he was thrilled to be home, Mr Davis said his main focus was on his wife, who has a “severe spinal cord injury” and still has no feeling from the waist down.
“As far as her condition is concerned, 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 further,” he said during a press conference at the RAH.
“Kerry still carries the physical trauma… but we’re just grateful to be home and have all that family and love.”
Mr. Davis expressed guilt because he is doing well, but his wife is not.
“To be completely honest, personally I feel very guilty that I can stand here and walk around and talk to you guys.
“I am absolutely humbled by Kerry’s strength and courage to endure the ordeal of the past week. It was just phenomenal and I know that strength and courage will continue to carry us through,” he said. “Post-operatively, it was a good result to get her stable.”
Mr 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 “wonderful work in repatriating them from Thailand.”
Mr Davis had previously criticized Singapore Airlines after the pair were admitted to hospital in Bangkok.
He said there had been no communication from them about what to do.
‘I called Singapore Airlines as soon as we were admitted to hospital and they said they would call back. Then I called them again that evening, they said they would call back,” he told The Advertiser.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong contacted the couple a day later and spoke to three Australians who were in intensive care.
Preliminary findings from an investigation into the Singapore Airlines flight reveal a rapid change in gravity and a height difference of 54 meters was the cause of the catastrophic injuries.
“The aircraft experienced a rapid change in G (gravity) … This likely resulted in the occupants not being seated to become airborne,” Singapore’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement on a report by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau.
‘The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within four seconds.
“This likely caused the airborne occupants to fall back down,” the report said, citing information from flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
‘The rapid changes in G over a duration of 4.6 seconds resulted in an elevation change of 177 feet, from 37,362 feet to 37,184 feet. This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers.”
The report was conducted by a team including Singaporean researchers, Boeing representatives and United States security officials.
Singapore Airlines has acknowledged the report and is fully cooperating with the investigation.