We came across several posts on X circulating a video that claims to show footage from the Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 travelling from London to Singapore, which recently experienced severe turbulence and had to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.

The video shows the plane shaking violently, a flight attendant being thrown against the ceiling of the plane and various items being tossed around the cabin.

SQ 321’s journey

SQ 321 which took off from London on 20 May 2024, encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” while travelling over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar on its journey to Singapore. According to media reports, the extreme turbulence forced the plane to rapidly ascend at a rate of 1664 feet per minute before rapidly descending at a rate of 1536 feet per minute, in a matter of 3 seconds. As a result, eyewitness reports from passengers on SQ 321 claimed that people were “launched immediately into the ceiling”, with cabin crew and passengers using the toilets being the most affected.

Image credit: Reuters

 

SQ 321’s pilot declared a medical emergency, and the flight was diverted to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. One passenger died during the incident, and over 30 passengers were taken to hospitals across Bangkok for medical treatment.

Does the video depict the correct incident?

As news of the incident broke on social media, videos began circulating that purportedly showed how passengers were being thrown around the cabin. These videos appear to corroborate eyewitness accounts that emerged after the incident.

However, upon closer inspection, the air stewardess in the video clip is wearing a yellow uniform, which differs from Singapore Airlines’ iconic cabin crew sarong kebaya, which comes in blue, green, red and purple.

A reverse image search of screenshots taken from the video circulating on X reveals that the clip is from a similar incident in 2019, where 10 passengers were injured after an ALK airline flight experienced turbulence during a flight from Pristina, Kosovo to Basel, Switzerland.

Hence, the claim that this video is from the recent SQ 321 flight is false.

In the early hours following an incident or crisis, an information vacuum is likely to form as people scramble to understand what has happened, who was affected, and what the next steps for recovery are. These vacuums might be rife with misinformation, and sometimes, viral clips or images may be mistakenly circulated, causing more panic and anxiety for those affected.

Therefore, it is important to view information on social media responsibly and ensure its accuracy before resharing it with our networks.