Investigation reports reveal two separate turbulence events on Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights in June 2025 that injured eight cabin crew members, two seriously. The reports detail pilot decision-making, weather radar reliance, and safety protocol gaps leading to severe injuries.
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau ( TSIB) released its final investigation reports on June 23 and 24, 2026, disclosing two separate turbulence incidents involving Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot flights that occurred in June 2025.
These incidents together injured eight cabin crew members, two of whom sustained serious injuries. The first incident involved an SIA Airbus A350-900 jet descending toward Shanghai Pudong International Airport on June 27, 2025. Approximately 4.5 hours into the flight, around 5:11 p.m., the crew began preparing the cabin for landing as the aircraft started its descent. The pilots visually identified a narrow corridor about 20 nautical miles wide between two weather cells.
They decided to navigate through this path, which would keep the aircraft at most 10 nautical miles from either cell, despite the flight crew training manual recommending a minimum 20-nautical-mile buffer from the greatest threat. Avoiding the left cell would require significant deviation, while bypassing the right cell might take the aircraft out of the Shanghai flight information region.
The pilots did not instruct cabin crew to be seated earlier despite this decision, which was made five minutes before reaching the weather cells. Additionally, the route took the aircraft downwind of one cell, while the manual suggested an upwind deviation when possible. The TSIB noted that these manual guidelines were not mandatory but served as a decision-making framework. After entering a cloud layer, the pilots lost visual contact with the weather cells and relied solely on weather radar.
At 5:13 p.m., they requested and received air traffic control permission to adjust heading. However, upon exiting the cloud layer, the pilots observed a tall cumulonimbus cloud very close to the left side of the aircraft. At 5:18 p.m., they radioed for further heading change clearance, but the captain initiated the maneuver immediately without waiting for approval. Five seconds after the request, while descending through 27,500 feet, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence.
Data showed vertical acceleration fluctuating dramatically: dropping from +1G to +0.66G in two seconds, then rising to +1.78G in 1.5 seconds, falling to -0.02G, and peaking at +2.63G within the next 0.75 seconds. Stable flight resumed after about five seconds. During this event, the in-flight manager reported several cabin crew members becoming momentarily airborne. Two crew members suffered more serious injuries and were relieved of duties for the remainder of the flight.
The aircraft landed at approximately 6:17 p.m. One crew member sustained a fractured left ankle, and others received outpatient treatment. Following the incident, SIA revised its turbulence management framework, encouraging pilots to adopt a more conservative approach to weather and to secure the cabin earlier when necessary. A new tool was also introduced to help pilots identify rapidly developing cumulus clouds that could evolve into thunderstorms.
The second incident involved a Scoot Boeing 787-8 flight bound for Guangzhou, which departed Singapore on June 10, 2025. At about 7:06 a.m., while cruising at 39,000 feet over the Ho Chi Minh flight information region in Vietnam, the aircraft's speed began to increase, indicating potential turbulence ahead. The pilots intended to request a deviation to the right from Ho Chi Minh air traffic control but faced heavy radio congestion.
The captain decided to proceed through an area showing green returns on weather radar, indicating light rain. He turned on the fasten seat belt sign but did not take additional precautionary measures. Shortly after, the aircraft encountered unexpected moderate turbulence. While the initial report cut off, the TSIB findings likely addressed the crew's response and resulting injuries, consistent with the summary that eight cabin crew members were injured across both incidents, two seriously.
These events underscore the challenges of real-time weather assessment and decision-making in flight operations, as well as the importance of adherence to safety protocols even when guidelines are not strictly mandatory
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