The extreme turbulence that killed one passenger and injured dozens on a latest Singapore Airways flight led to to sudden modifications in altitude and airspeed, Singapore’s Transport Ministry mentioned on Wednesday.

Flight SQ321 encountered turbulence about 10 hours right into a 13-hour journey to Singapore from London final week, officers mentioned. Most of the 211 passengers had simply completed breakfast.

The turbulence hit because the aircraft was touring over southern Myanmar at an altitude of 37,000 ft, the Transport Ministry said in a preliminary report on Wednesday.

When the aircraft rose unexpectedly by 362 ft, in all probability due to an updraft, its autopilot pitched it downward, the report mentioned. The aircraft additionally sped up unexpectedly across the similar time, and the pilots manually hit a brake in response.

All of that exercise in all probability triggered the accidents to the passengers and crew members because the aircraft misplaced about 178 ft of altitude in lower than 5 seconds, the report mentioned. Individuals who weren’t carrying seatbelts grew to become airborne earlier than falling again down.

The aircraft was diverted to Thailand, the place it landed safely. Officers later mentioned a 73-year-old man from Britain had died on board and that 71 individuals had been injured.