Just a little turbulence, thats all.

The aftermath of the vigorous ride

We may have all experienced turbulence on flights, but when a rough patch is so bad that the ceiling ends up covered in coffee then you know it's serious. Passengers on a recent Singapore Airlines flight were left surrounded by a chaotic mess after their flight fell 20 metres when it hit severe turbulence.

A total of 11 passengers and one crew member were injured on flight SQ308 from Singapore to London last Sunday. One passenger on the flight, who saw his coffee end up on the ceiling, managed to take pictures of the destruction which he posted to Instagram.

Alan Cross told ABC News that passengers had been warned to expect turbulence and that the breakfast service would be temporarily suspended. A short while after the seat belt sign came on, the captain issued an abrupt order for all flight attendants to take their seats immediately.

Mr Cross said the subsequent turbulence felt 'like being in an elevator with a cut cable or free-falling from some amusement park ride.'

Coffee stains managed to end up on the ceiling.

He said everything that was not tied down, including people, hit the ceiling. The airline told The Australian: 'Eleven passengers and one crew member sustained minor injuries when the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of altitude and were attended to by medical personnel on arrival at Heathrow Airport. Seat-belt signs were on at the time and meal services had already been suspended.'
Within just an hour, the carnage had been almost completely tidied up and the plane was practically back to normal.

Mr Cross said: 'The cabin crew was amazing in the aftermath, as were fellow passengers who helped everyone around them then in a calm and efficient clean-up.'

He said crew checked for injuries before cleaning up the mess and gave passengers boxes of chocolates as they departed at Heathrow, where they were met by paramedics.