“I LOST MY SOULMATE”: WIFE REVEALS TERRIFYING MOMENTS ABOARD SINGAPORE AIRLINES FLIGHT THAT KILLED HER HUSBAND

More than two years after a Singapore Airlines flight was rocked by severe turbulence, the widow of the British grandfather who lost his life aboard the plane has spoken publicly about the terrifying moments that changed her family forever.

Linda Kitchen, 74, was traveling with her husband, Geoff Kitchen, 73, on Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 when the aircraft suddenly plunged during the flight from London Heathrow to Singapore on May 20, 2024.

Geoff died after suffering a heart attack during the chaos.

Linda survived but suffered severe spinal injuries that left her hospitalized in intensive care in Bangkok.

Now, she is taking legal action against Singapore Airlines as she continues to seek answers about what happened.

“I THOUGHT THE PLANE WAS GOING DOWN”

The Kitchens had been looking forward to a six-week dream vacation through Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and Australia.

They had been married for more than five decades and were nearly 11 hours into their 13-hour journey when the aircraft encountered the most severe turbulence.

Linda recalled that the plane suddenly felt as though it was dropping.

Her Kindle and Geoff’s phone fell to the floor.

Then everything changed.

She was thrown backward and to the side, suffering severe pain through her body.

Geoff fell onto her, pinning her against the armrest.

“I couldn’t move him,” she recalled.

Linda began screaming for help as other passengers rushed to assist them.

GEOFF DIED AS PASSENGERS RUSHED TO HELP

Passengers eventually moved Geoff toward an emergency exit area while a doctor was called to perform CPR.

Geoff, a retired insurance worker from Gloucestershire, was later confirmed to have died from a heart attack.

The aircraft was diverted to Bangkok, where severely injured passengers were taken for emergency treatment.

Linda was among those hospitalized.

She was in intensive care and suffered serious spinal injuries.

Her children immediately flew to Thailand to be with her.

DOZENS OF PASSENGERS WERE INJURED

The turbulence left the cabin in chaos.

Passengers and crew members were thrown around the aircraft, with belongings scattered throughout the cabin and parts of the interior damaged.

Around 70 passengers and crew members were injured, with 18 people requiring hospitalization in the immediate aftermath.

The aircraft eventually landed at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where emergency crews treated those injured aboard the flight.

The incident became one of the most serious turbulence events involving a commercial passenger aircraft in recent years.

NOW LINDA IS SEEKING ANSWERS IN COURT

More than two years later, Linda has filed legal proceedings against Singapore Airlines in the UK High Court.

Her lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are seeking damages over the injuries she suffered and are also examining whether more could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

One issue being raised in the legal case concerns the aircraft’s weather radar system.

A previous investigation reportedly said that issues with the onboard weather radar could not be ruled out.

Singapore Airlines has declined to comment on the current legal proceedings.

“I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS”

For Linda, the legal action is not simply about compensation.

It is about understanding how a long-awaited family vacation turned into a nightmare.

She lost the husband she had spent more than 50 years with.

She was seriously injured herself.

And she was left to recover while grieving in a hospital thousands of miles from home.

Her lawyers say the family continues to have questions about what happened and whether anything could have been done differently.

A DREAM HOLIDAY THAT ENDED IN TRAGEDY

Geoff and Linda had been excited about their journey across Asia and Australia.

Instead, their trip ended with Geoff’s death and Linda facing a long recovery.

The case now places the events of SQ321 under renewed scrutiny as Linda seeks answers through the courts.

For the grieving widow, however, no legal outcome can change what happened that day.

She lost her husband, her traveling companion and the person she had spent more than half a century beside.

Now, more than two years later, Linda is determined to find out exactly what happened aboard Flight SQ321 — and whether the tragedy could have been prevented.