The British passenger who died after a flight to Singapore was hit by severe turbulence has been named as a 73-year-old grandfather, Geoffrey Kitchen.
Kitchen, a retired insurance professional turned amateur dramatics performer, had travelled to Singapore on Monday on the 10pm flight from Heathrow.
He and his wife, Linda, were to stop over en route to Australia, where they planned to enjoy a six-week holiday, neighbours told the Guardian.
Kitchen, originally from Bristol, had lived in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, most of his life, moving into his current semi-detached home in 2012. He had a son, who runs a window cleaning business, and a daughter, who lives in Wales.
Jill Dimond, a close friend and neighbour, said: “He was a well-loved man. He was clever, funny, a fantastic performer, deeply caring about theatre. It was his passion.”
The Kitchens had been guests at the Dimonds’ home in the past week, and the two couples would go for walks in the local area.
Kitchen set up Thornbury Musical Theatre Group in retirement and performed in a Dick Whittington pantomime last Christmas. The theatre group has two forthcoming productions this year.
He had recently campaigned for the reopening of Armstrong Hall in Thornbury, which had previously been used for theatre productions.
In an open letter published last year, Kitchen wrote: “Our community is much poorer for the lack of this facility; and the creative forces that have long existed are in danger of fading away. It is not too late to bring the complex back to life, but this is now extremely urgent.”
Another neighbour in the cul-de-sac Kitchen lived in said they were “saddened” to hear of his death. “I knew him as a neighbour; his son cleans my windows. It’s very shocking.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.
