Singapore has declared severe turbulence as a key safety risk after two serious accidents occurred last year, one of which resulted in a passenger's death and multiple injuries.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a new report that severe turbulence encounters have been listed among a series of “state-level safety risks” and precursor events.
Severe turbulence now appears alongside other operational safety risks, including mid-air collisions, loss of control in-flight, and runway excursions.
Identifying turbulence as a major safety risk on flights comes after two accidents on Singapore Airlines flights last year.
The first, on 21 May, saw a Boeing 777 on its way from London to Singapore encounter turbulence in Myanmar, which resulted in the death of British 73-year-old Geoff Kitchen, as well as other passengers sustaining multiple injuries.
Kitchen died of a suspected heart attack during the incident after the Singapore Airlines plane endured 19 seconds of extreme turbulence that included a drop of 178 feet in just 4.6 seconds, constituting a vertical speed of 26mph.
A few months later, on 6 September, a Boeing 787-9 encountered turbulence in Hong Kong during its descent, which resulted in one passenger and a cabin crew member sustaining injuries.
The flight, operated by Singapore Airlines partner Scoot, hit turbulence while approaching Guangzhou in the Guangdong province, injuring four passengers and three crew members.
After these incidents, CAAS said Singapore air operators have implemented several measures, such as turbulence-related scenarios, as part of training for flight crew.
The use of modern weather radars and turbulence awareness applications has also enabled flight crews to avoid areas of potentially hazardous turbulence.
CAAS added that they are working with other civil aviation authorities across the world to promote the use of enhanced turbulence forecasting and onboard turbulence detection systems.
The report also identified other safety challenges in Singapore’s aviation sector, including emerging ones such as new technologies being integrated into aviation and navigation satellite frequency interference. The plan sets out 45 actions to address these various challenges.
CAAS said that aviation safety is being strengthened as Singapore’s air passenger volume hits record levels and is expected to grow strongly in the coming years.
Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS, said, "Singapore has today one of the strongest aviation safety regime in the world. Notwithstanding this, the recent spate of serious aviation safety incidents around the world is a timely reminder that we must stay vigilant and not take safety for granted.
“The National Aviation Safety Plan is a call to action for the Singapore aviation sector to work together to ensure aviation safety as we position ourselves for growth.”
The Independent has contacted Singapore Airlines and Scoot for comment on the CAAS report.
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