A popular musical theater director died on a Singapore Airlines flight that was hit by severe turbulence. His family said he was on a “last big holiday” with his wife.
Geoffrey Kitchen, a father of two, has been identified as the 73-year-old Briton who died on board the Boeing 777-300ER flight that made an emergency landing in Bangkok on Tuesday while en route from London to Singapore.
Geoffrey Kitchen possibly suffered heart attack
A Briton had probably suffered a heart attack on the plane, a spokesman for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport said. The flight was carrying 211 passengers – including 47 from the United Kingdom – and 18 crew members. Seven people are critical in hospital and several others are injured.
Singapore Airlines said the flight encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” about 10 hours after taking off over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin at an altitude of 37,000 feet and that the pilot declared a medical emergency. Flight tracking data showed the plane fell 6,000 feet in a matter of minutes.
As more details emerge about the terrifying incident, tributes have poured in for Kitchen, originally from Thornbury, outside Bristol.
His wife was hospitalized after the incident, said Kittipong Kittikachorn, director general of Thailand Airports.
Thornbury Musical Theater Group Pays Tribute
The Thornbury Musical Theater Group, where Kitchen spent much of his time after working there for 35 years and as a director since 2020, praised him as a “gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity”.
Kitchen’s first cousin Stephen Kitchen said he and his wife Linda were looking forward to their six-week vacation together.
He told The Independent from his home in Chepstow: “We were a bit shocked, I still am. I’m trying to touch base with Linda. I sent a message.
“They were looking forward to the holiday. They are travellers, they do quite a lot of these things, quite adventurous. It was sort of going to be their last big holiday. It would have been nice to see them before they went. It was a tour around Asia.”
Stephen said he was due to meet the couple for lunch at the White Hart pub in Littleton-upon-Severn before going on holiday, but the meeting was cancelled due to visa issues that needed to be resolved.
Asked how he’d remember his first cousin, Stephen said: “With fond memories, he is musical, I’m musical so we are musicals orientated but I know he was very popular in the Thornbury musical group, just a lovely guy.”
Last week, Kitchen, a retired insurance professional, had helped prepare the group’s next show, “Journey Back To The Future,” which his neighbor and colleague Steve Dimond said would now be dedicated to him.
Mr Dimond, who has knowns Kitchen for 11 years, told The Independent: “We will continue with the next show which will likely be done in his name.
“I’m really shocked, he’ll be badly missed. He was a kind man who in recent years, after retirement, had loved the musical theatre.”
Mr. Kitchen had recently worked hard to reopen the city’s Armstrong Hall and was well-respected in the community.
Asked about Kitchen, Mr Dimond added: “A really nice bloke, loved live music and the theatre. I can remember him dressed as a sultan in the panto this year, funny, good singer, a nice bloke. Very sociable.”
In a tribute paid on Tuesday night, the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group said: “It is with a heavy heart that we learn of the devastating news of the passing of our esteemed colleague and friend Geoff Kitchen in the recent Singapore Air Incident.
“Geoff was always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity and always did what was right for the group.
“His commitment to TMTG was unquestionable and he has served the group and the local community of Thornbury for over 35 years, holding various offices within the group, including chairman, treasurer and most recently secretary.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and the family at this difficult time, and we ask that you respect their privacy.”
Singapore Airlines flight Turbulence
On Monday, the flight left Heathrow at 22:17 and landed in Bangkok at 3:45 p.m. local time [0845 GMT] the next day. Flightradar24 said its tracking data showed the plane hit turbulence while flying over Myanmar at around 0749 GMT.
The flight tracking service said data sent from the aircraft showed a “rapid change in vertical rate, consistent with a sudden turbulence event”, adding that there were “some severe” thunderstorms in the area at the time.
Dzafran Azmir, 28, who was on the flight, said the plane suffered a “very dramatic drop”, meaning people not wearing a seatbelt were “launched immediately into the ceiling”.
Images posted on social media showed damage to the cabin’s roof, as well as food, cutlery and other remains scattered on the floor after the incident.
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