A passenger on the Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence that led to the death of a Briton believes he will have to change careers after suffering life-changing injuries.
Bradley Richards, 29, was left with six fractures to his spine and neck and internal bleeding after Flight SQ321, from London to Singapore, plunged 176 feet in four seconds.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, died of a suspected heart attack while many others were injured, some seriously.
Mr Richards believes he lost consciousness and woke up with blood pouring from his head.
After using a pillow to stem the blood flow, he said he “immediately felt pain in his spine” and had to be placed in a wheelchair when the plane landed in Bangkok.
The telecommunications engineer from Benfleet, Essex, described the experience as “something out of a film”.
He suffered multiple fractures to his spine and neck, a spinal epidural hematoma and a cut to his head requiring 20 stitches.
Doctors told Mr Richards it was unlikely he would be able to return to his current job as an engineer.
He said: “It’s just disgusting – I worked in this role for seven years and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. »
He is being treated in a hospital in Bangkok and does not yet know when he will be able to return to the UK.
Mr Richards said: “It hasn’t been pleasant, I can assure you, but I’m doing my best to stay positive and the airline and hospital have been so good to me. Healthcare is second to none.
Initial findings from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) show the plane experienced a rapid change in acceleration up and down, causing injuries to those who were not wearing their seat belts .
Mr Richards said: “I was asleep or I think I might have passed out when it happened.
“I remember waking up and my head was full of blood, kids were screaming, people were running around, it was so frantic. It was like it was out of a movie.
“I remember immediately feeling a pain in my back and blood pouring from my head.
“I tried to use my blood-stemming pad – one of the ones they give out on flights.
“Once we landed, I was near the back of the plane and I remember the medical staff running and having to step over all the injured people on the ground.
“They couldn’t get me a stretcher, so I was helped off the plane.
“I told them about my spinal pain and the workers had to pick me up, support me under my armpits and carry me to a wheelchair.
“It was all so traumatic.”
“I guess they couldn’t fit a stretcher in the back because of the people on the floor or maybe they wouldn’t have picked him up because of all the chaos going on.
“I was just a bit quiet afterwards, to be honest – it all seemed so surreal. I didn’t scream or anything.
“It was all so traumatic. When I woke up and saw people on the floor, on a stretcher – like I said, it looked like something from a movie, not real life.
Results of the TSIB’s preliminary investigation reveal that the plane fell 178 feet (54 m) in just four seconds.
The agency says this likely caused injuries to the crew and passengers.
Authorities believe Mr Kitchen, from Thornbury, near Bristol, died of a suspected heart attack after the extreme turbulence.
He was traveling with his wife for six weeks to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
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