On Monday 20 May, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 from London hit severe turbulence over Myanmar at 37,000 feet, causing the plane to violently plummet 6,000 feet during an in-flight meal service with horrific consequences. Tragically, one 73-year-old British man died of a suspected heart attack during the incident, and dozens were critically injured.
A total of 46 passengers and two crew members were treated in hospital in Bangkok, and of those, 22 have spinal cord injuries, six brain and skull and 13 bone, muscle and other injuries. 17 operations have already been performed, including nine spinal (5 cervical and 4 thoracic).
Medacs Healthcare spoke with Orthopaedic and Trauma Consultant John Rowles, who has considerable expertise with aircraft accidents and the injuries sustained. Following the M1 Kegworth air crash in 1989, John collated clinical material, documenting all the injuries, and contributed to the development of the brace position now used by the aircraft industry. He also has a published thesis on the Impact Biomechanics of the Pelvis and Lower Limbs in Aircraft Accidents, and a book on The Management of Disasters and Their Aftermath.
John is currently the Senior Orthopaedic Consultant at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust, an honorary clinical teacher to Nottingham Medical School, and Orthopaedic Clinical Lead for Clinical Insourcing provider Medacs Healthcare.
Q. What does your experience with aircraft accidents tell you about this incident?
A. It appears that most of the injuries were ‘projectile’, so caused either by unrestrained people becoming free projectiles and hitting things themselves, or caused by other projectiles within the cabin that either became detached or were not safely secured at the time. The theory behind aircraft accident safety is all about ‘survivable areas’, and typically, passengers that avoid serious injuries are seated and restrained in safe zones with the area around them intact, without detached overhead bins, falling luggage or other heavy projectiles. Once investigations get underway, I expect there will be a great deal of scrutiny on how injuries occurred, and which parts of the cabin remained intact.
Q. Do you think there is anything that could have been done to prevent it?
A. It is too early to comment really but a lack of restraints (seatbelts) looks to be the key issue. The greatest injuries are caused when passengers become projectiles and the research behind this goes back a long way and is applicable to all forms of transport. Passengers on the 777 said that the plane dropped almost immediately after the seatbelt light came on, and it sounds like many simply weren’t quick enough to fasten them. I do think the advice that you should keep your seatbelt fastened at all times should be clearer and more rigorously enforced, and this should serve as a cautionary reminder to passengers who ignore the rules.
Q. Are there any immediately obvious lessons for the aircraft industry?
A. Singapore Airlines has already announced that it will be taking a more cautious approach to seat belt rules and meal service will no longer be provided when the seat belt sign is on. More emphasis should also be given to communicating the importance to passengers of keeping their seatbelt fastened, and there are suggestions that airlines could bring in weight switches on seats that would automatically trigger reminders to fasten your seatbelt. That would be a great safety feature to have, but the cost of upgrading seats will probably mean it doesn’t happen anytime soon. I expect the aviation experts will also look at what can be done to take more weight out of overhead bins and secure more potential projectiles.
Q. Finally, where do you sit when you fly – any tips on the safest part of the plane?
A. Ideally I like to turn left into first class! To be honest, safety isn’t really a factor that I think about when choosing my seats as thankfully aircraft accidents are extremely rare in comparison to other forms of transport. That said, research shows that the safest places with the best survivable zones are over the wings or at the very back of the plane.
Sources/Refs:
https://www.orthopaedicconsultant.info/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8431182/
