A passenger who is paralyzed from the waist down has criticized the compensation offer from Singapore Airlines as insufficient. Kerry Jordan, hailing from Adelaide, Australia, was aboard a Singapore Airlines flight departing from London on May 21 that encountered severe turbulence, resulting in a dramatic altitude drop of 54 meters (178 ft) in just four seconds. Tragically, the incident caused one man to suffer a fatal heart attack.
The turbulence was so intense that passengers were reportedly ‘launched into the ceiling’, causing some to sustain head injuries on the overhead bins. Among those severely affected, Kerry Jordan now faces significant, possibly permanent, paralysis below the waist after her spine was severely damaged during the ordeal.
Currently, Kerry is grappling with the possibility of never walking again, as conveyed by medical professionals. In response to the injuries sustained by passengers, Singapore Airlines has extended a compensation offer of $25,000 to those with major injuries and $10,000 to passengers with minor injuries. However, Keith Davis, Kerry’s husband, has publicly denounced the compensation as ‘beyond insulting’.
Keith revealed that he was made aware of the compensation offer through friends, rather than directly from the airline. He expressed his expectation for the airline to provide sufficient compensation to support Kerry throughout her radically altered life, emphasizing the severe limitations now placed on her mobility, affecting primarily her arms, neck, and shoulders.
Singapore Airlines, in a statement, mentioned that it invited seriously injured passengers to discuss further compensation tailored to their individual needs. Additionally, the airline covered all medical costs for the passengers, provided a $1,000 payment for immediate expenses, and refunded the cost of their flights.
The airline also issued a public apology via Facebook, recognizing the traumatic nature of the incident and affirming its commitment to support the affected passengers during this challenging period. The statement confirmed that compensation offers were disseminated on June 10, 2024, detailing the amounts and instructions for proceeding with claims.
Despite the airline’s efforts, Kerry declined a proposed second hospital visit from the Singapore Airlines chief executive, and Keith has labeled the company’s apology as ‘an absolute joke’. Adding to the call for better compensation, former senator Nick Xenophon, now part of the legal team representing injured passengers, argued for a minimum compensation of $175,000 for seriously injured passengers, citing the guidelines of the Montreal Convention on air incident liabilities.