British man who died on SIA flight suffered cardiac arrest after severe turbulence, inquest told调查显示，一名英国男子在新加坡航空公司航班上遭遇严重湍流后心脏骤停身亡。
A British man who died aboard a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight in May 2024 suffered a cardiac arrest after the plane encountered severe turbulence, an inquest was told.Geoff Kitchen, 73, was travelling from London Heathrow to Singapore with his wife Linda when the Boeing 777 encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar on May 21, 2024.The aircraft was later diverted to Bangkok,...
A British man who died aboard a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight in May 2024 suffered a cardiac arrest after the plane encountered severe turbulence, an inquest was told.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, was travelling from London Heathrow to Singapore with his wife Linda when the Boeing 777 encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar on May 21, 2024.
The aircraft was later diverted to Bangkok, where Kitchen was pronounced dead.
At an inquest at Avon Coroners' Court in England on Wednesday (Sept 23), assistant coroner Dr Peter Harrowing concluded that the physiological effects of the turbulence had triggered Kitchen's cardiac arrest.
"I am satisfied that it was the physiological effect of the aircraft turbulence which precipitated the cardiac arrest and ultimately Geoff's demise," he said, according to the BBC.
History of coronary artery disease
Kitchen, who was a retired insurance professional, had a history of coronary artery disease. The inquest heard that he had undergone surgery to have stents fitted to his right coronary artery in 2019.
A post-mortem examination carried out in Bristol found that he died from cardiac failure due to coronary artery atheroma and the physiological effects of aircraft turbulence.
During the incident, Kitchen was thrown from his seat and landed on his wife, who suffered serious spinal injuries.
In a statement read to the inquest, Linda said her husband had been listening to a podcast when she felt the plane experience a "huge drop or lunge".
She said she felt "incredible pain" as Kitchen was thrown against her, before two passengers helped move him away.
Kitchen was later taken to the front of the aircraft, where passengers and crew performed CPR on him.
Linda, who had also suffered a head wound, said she was not told that her husband had died until two days later.
The couple had been embarking on a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
The aircraft was cruising at 37,000ft when it encountered severe turbulence near the west coast of south-western Myanmar, according to an investigation report cited at the inquest.
The incident left 56 people seriously injured and another 23 with minor injuries, the inquest heard.
Kitchen's death had initially been attributed to congestive heart failure following a post-mortem examination in Thailand.
His wife has since launched legal proceedings against SIA in the UK, seeking damages for the injuries she sustained during the incident.
The airline had previously apologised for the "traumatic experience" suffered by those onboard and expressed its condolences to Kitchen's family.
asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com
2024 年 5 月，一名英国男子在新加坡航空公司 (SIA) 航班上遭遇严重湍流后心脏骤停身亡，验尸官听取了这一消息。
2024 年 5 月 21 日，73 岁的杰夫·基钦 (Geoff Kitchen) 和妻子琳达 (Linda) 乘坐波音 777 客机从伦敦希思罗机场飞往新加坡，途中飞机在缅甸上空遭遇严重湍流。
飞机后来改道飞往曼谷，基钦在那里被宣布死亡。
周三（9 月 23 日），在英国埃文验尸官法庭举行的调查中，助理验尸官彼得·哈罗温博士得出结论，湍流的生理影响引发了基钦的心脏骤停。
据英国广播公司报道，他说：“我确信是飞机颠簸造成的生理影响引发了心脏骤停，并最终导致了杰夫的死亡。”
冠状动脉疾病史
基钦是一名退休的保险从业人员，曾患有冠状动脉疾病。验尸庭获悉，他于2019年接受了手术，在其右冠状动脉中植入了支架。
在布里斯托尔进行的尸检发现，他死于冠状动脉粥样硬化引起的心力衰竭以及飞机湍流的生理影响。
事故中，基钦被甩出座位，摔倒在妻子身上，导致妻子脊椎严重受伤。
琳达在提交给死因研讯的一份声明中说，当时她的丈夫正在听播客，她感觉飞机突然“猛地一沉或一冲”。
她说，当基钦被扔向她时，她感到“难以忍受的疼痛”，之后两名乘客帮忙把他移开了。
随后，基钦被抬到飞机前部，乘客和机组人员对他进行了心肺复苏术。
琳达头部也受了伤，她说直到两天后才知道丈夫去世的消息。
这对夫妇原本计划进行为期六周的新加坡、印度尼西亚和澳大利亚之旅。
根据调查报告中引用的一份调查报告，这架飞机在缅甸西南部西海岸附近遭遇严重湍流时，巡航高度为 37,000 英尺。
验尸庭获悉，该事件造成 56 人重伤，另有 23 人轻伤。
在泰国进行的尸检后，Kitchen 的死因最初被归咎于充血性心力衰竭。
他的妻子随后在英国对新加坡航空公司提起诉讼，要求赔偿她在事故中受到的伤害。
此前，该航空公司已就机上乘客遭受的“创伤性经历”表示道歉，并向基钦的家人表示慰问。
asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com