Kitchen, 73, was flying from London Heathrow to Singapore with his wife Linda at the start of a six-week holiday when their Boeing 777-300ER hit severe turbulence over Myanmar on May 21, 2024.
The plane diverted to Bangkok, where he was pronounced dead.
“I am satisfied that it was the physiological effect of the aircraft turbulence which precipitated the cardiac arrest and ultimately Geoff’s demise,” assistant coroner Dr. Peter Harrowing said at Avon Coroners’ Court on Sept. 23, the BBC reported.
Kitchen, a retired insurance professional, had a history of coronary artery disease and had stents fitted in 2019.
A statement from his family doctor said a review later that year found he had returned to “normal exercise capacity,” according to the BBC.
An initial post-mortem examination in Thailand attributed his death to congestive heart failure.
A second examination in Bristol found he died of cardiac failure caused by coronary artery atheroma and the physiological effects of the turbulence.
‘Huge drop’
Kitchen was thrown from his seat onto his wife, who was sitting beside him.
In a statement read to the inquest, Linda, 74, said her husband was listening to a podcast when the plane made a “huge drop or lunge,” the PA news agency reported. She felt “incredible pain” as he pressed her to the side.
Two passengers lifted him off her, and he was moved to the front of the plane to be given CPR, the inquest heard.
Linda, who suffered spinal fractures and a head wound, was not told of his death until two days later.
The aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet when the turbulence struck.
The incident left 56 people seriously injured and 23 with minor injuries, according to an investigation report read at the inquest.
Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau found in its preliminary report that the plane dropped 178 feet (54 meters) in 4.6 seconds, Reuters reported.
The bureau’s final report, published May 19, found that the storm clouds likely behind the turbulence went undetected by the onboard weather radar. Investigators could not determine whether the radar had malfunctioned.
Linda has issued High Court proceedings in England seeking damages from Singapore Airlines through law firm Irwin Mitchell. The claims include one on behalf of her husband’s estate, The Independent reported.
Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong apologized after the incident for the “traumatic experience” of those on board and offered condolences to Kitchen’s family.