Wife of man who died after turbulence sues airline

A widow whose husband died after "severe turbulence" on a flight has begun legal action against the airline.

Lawyers for Linda Kitchen, 74, from Thornbury near Bristol, who broke her back during the incident, said her husband, Geoff, 73, was "fatally injured" when the Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow suddenly dropped around 6,000 ft (1,828 metres).

She has now begun proceedings at the High Court seeking damages from the airline to help her access specialist support for her back. The BBC has contacted the airline for comment.

"When I got separated from Geoff, I knew he was in a bad way, but nothing prepared me for hearing he had died. It was absolutely devastating," she said.

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Kitchen and her husband, described as her "soul mate", were starting a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia when the incident happened in May 2024.

The turbulence hit over Myanmar, with the flight then diverted to Bangkok, in Thailand, for an emergency landing.

"There had been some turbulence over Europe, and it had been shaky over the water, but it was around 10 hours into the flight when we encountered the main turbulence," Kitchen said.