An investigation into the turbulence SQ321 encountered in 2024 determined that defects in the weather radar cannot be ruled out. The weather radar in the cockpit of Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ321 may have malfunctioned amid turbulence that resulted in the death of a British national and injuries to other passengers.
Turbulence which hit SQ321 in 2024: Possibility of weather radar defect cannot be ruled out, investigation finds Singapore-bound flight from London was hit by severe turbulence over Myanmar resulting in the death of one passenger and injuries to others An investigation into the turbulence SQ321 encountered in 2024 determined that defects in the weather radar cannot be ruled out.
The weather radar in the cockpit of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 may have malfunctioned amid turbulence that resulted in the death of a British national in 2024 and injuries to other passengersaccording to a report by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau published on Tuesday . SQ321 departed London Heathrow for Singapore at around 9.40pm UTC on May 20, 2024.
At 7.49am UTC the next day, as the plane cruised over southwest Myanmar, it was abruptly hit by turbulence that lasted over a full minute. Despite the best efforts of flight crew to take control, 80 passengers on board the flight suffered injuries, while theThe Boeing 777-300ER was carrying a total of 229 passengers including crew.
After receiving reports of multiple injuries in the cabin, the flight crew declared mayday to air traffic control in Yangon, Myanmar, and was directed to land in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Pilots caught unawares According to the TSIB report, the turbulence likely resulted from a rapidly growing cloud which caused significant vertical air movements in what is known as convectively induced turbulence .
CIT is associated with convective clouds and thunderstorms and can take place outside of visible storm clouds, making it hard to predict. TSIB said that the flight crew reported no weather radar returns shown on their navigational displays 15 minutes prior to the incident as they flew over southwest Myanmar.also did not see any clouds as they looked out of the cockpit window.reportedly removed the sunshade at his side window, but did not share what he saw.
"We hit something but I was on max," he said, referring to the intensity of weather radar returns on his navigation display. However, four other aircraft flying in the vicinity — but not along the same flight path"The investigation team is unable to understand why the flight crew of the occurrence flight did not see the widespread clouds," TSIB said.
TSIB also shared the possibility that the weather radar had failed to pick up on cloudsThe bureau reasoned that if the pilots had noticed anything amiss about the weather, they would have discussed it and their conversation would have been recorded on the cockpit voice recorder. Because the co-pilot had adjusted the range on his navigation display but still had no returns on his weather radar, no conversation was recorded regarding the weather.
The pilot had also expressed surprise at the empty radar despite having set his to "max", TSIB stated. Additionally, the bureau reviewed SIA's Boeing 777 fleet maintenance records from May 2023 to July 2025. Among 29,000 flights, there were 20 reports of no-painting without a fault message, one of which was logged by SQ321 on May 15, 2024.
Of the 29,000 flights, there were also 12 reports of under-painting — where weather intensity is underrated — by the radar, of which two were reported by SQ321 on April 29, 2024, and May 1, 2024.for the airlineWhile three instances were recorded for SQ321, they did not fall within the 10-day period. However, the weather radar's manufacturer conducted tests on the radar and could not replicate the issue, concluding that there was no evidence that the radar failed to detect and display weather encountered as the aircraft flew over southwest Myanmar, the report also stated.
TSIB added: "The investigation team opines that the possibility of no-painting and under-painting without fault messages cannot be ruled out.
"The bureau also put forth recommendations for both the airlines and manufacturers.
Aircraft manufacturers could develop guidance for flight crews to know when the weather radar is defective and how they can troubleshoot the issue Manufacturers could develop guidance for flight crews to know when the weather radar is defective and how they can troubleshoot the issue Weather radar manufacturer could develop means for recording images of weather information displayed to flight crews to aid rectification of these issues International Civil Aviation Organisation could require installation of flight crew-machine interface recorders for aircraft with a maximum take-off mass of 27,000kg and above that are type certificated before Jan 1, 2023 AsiaOne understands that airlines and manufacturers that have received TSIB's recommendation are obliged to respond within 90 days with information on their intent to accept and implement the recommendation.
SIA's measuresBoth flight and cabin crew members given refresher training and scenario-based turbulence management trainingIn-flight entertainment system to display reminders to passengers periodically to fasten seat beltsThe pilot will also make turbulence announcements in addition to the one made by cabin crew New step to provide guidance to flight crews on how to troubleshoot issues with under-painting or no-painting without fault messages Meanwhile, SIA has also begun sending reports of the weather radars' issues on its B777-300ER fleet to both the aircraft manufacturer and weather radar manufacturer for information and follow-up actions. Previously, for the weather radar, SIA would only send reports should an aircraft's radar experience at least three defects within 10 days.
Turbulence Weather Radar Flight SQ321 London Heathrow Suvarnabhumi Airport Yangon Myanmar Convectively Induced Turbulence Clouds Flight Crew Weather Radar Returns No-Painting Under-Painting International Civil Aviation Organisation Flight Crew-Machine Interface Recorders
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