Kitchen and her husband, described as her “soul mate”, were starting a six-week holiday to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia when the incident happened in May 2024.
The turbulence hit over Myanmar, with the flight then diverted to Bangkok, in Thailand, for an emergency landing.
“There had been some turbulence over Europe, and it had been shaky over the water, but it was around 10 hours into the flight when we encountered the main turbulence,” Kitchen said.
“It was so severe; it felt like the aircraft was dropping. I noticed my Kindle and Geoff’s phone had fallen to the floor, and I thought the plane was going down.”
As the aircraft plummeted, Kitchen said her husband fell on top of her, squashing her into the armrest. Eventually, others helped to move him and a doctor on board began CPR.
Kitchen was taken to hospital while her husband was still on the plane. It was two days before she was told he had died.
It is understood that Geoff suffered a heart attack after the plane suddenly dropped at high altitude.
