An Australian man injured when a Singapore Airlines flight "fell into a huge hole" over Myanmar says his wife "is not in a great space" after suffering a spinal injury.
Keith Davis and his wife Kerry Jordan are in Bangkok's Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, where they could spend weeks before Ms Jordan is well enough to fly home to Adelaide.
Mr Davis said his wife had been thrown into the overhead lockers and landed in the aisle, where she remained for the rest of the flight, unable to move.
"She had emergency surgery as soon as we were admitted and it remains that she has no sensation from her waist down, so it's pretty life-changing," he told ABC News Breakfast from his hospital bed.
After spending days "in limbo" without hearing from the airline after Tuesday's incident, Mr Davis said there had been a "sea change" in the couple's situation after meeting with Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong on Thursday.
One person died on the flight, a man who had a heart attack a row in front of the Australian couple.
Of the 40 passengers and crew on the flight still under treatment, 22 have spinal cord injuries and six have brain and skull injuries, according to the hospital's director, Adinun Kittiratanapaibool.
Headfirst into the ceiling
Mr Davis said there was no warning ahead of the sudden turbulence that shook the flight from London to Singapore.
"It's not a spot of turbulence. This is the thing. It was absolute instant — we're on the ceiling," he said.
"We're talking literally seconds. There's no announcement. We did not see any indication at all.
"We just fell into a huge hole and we're free-falling and of course, you know, straight up into the ceiling.
"I went headfirst. We were in the middle section so I was dead centre and I went up through all the vents and masks and things.
"Unfortunately for Kerry, she hit the luggage doors.
"Instead of landing back into the seat area, she fell flat straight into the aisle and from that moment, she didn't move. That's where she remained for the rest of the flight.
"It was really horrifying, yeah. I remember I leant over her and she was breathing. She was able to communicate, you know, she was very weak.
"I remember feeling her breath, talking and I realised that I was dripping blood into her dress. Stupid things like that, I thought, 'Oh, I'm going to ruin her dress.'"
Passenger 'bounced off the ceiling', then did CPR
Amid the chaos in the aftermath of the incident, Mr Davis said many passengers managed to remain calm, including a man who performed CPR on a fellow traveller.
"Unfortunately the gentleman who passed away was immediately in front of us," he said.
"Fortunately, Kerry wasn't able to see any of that, but the young gentleman who was sitting next to me, I saw him there. He was applying CPR instantly.
"This kid had just bounced off a ceiling, destroyed his chair and he was off applying CPR. Some people just bounced straight out of it. It was amazing."
Days of uncertainty after incident
Mr Davis thanked consular officials for their support in the days after the crash.
After not hearing from the airline for days, Mr Davis was shut down by staff at the hospital when he attempted to tell the ABC and other journalists about how no representatives from the airline had spoken to him directly.
Mr Davis said he had "had no information, we've been left in limbo", as hospital staff quickly wheeled him to a lift to avoid reporters.
Shortly afterwards, Singapore Airlines on Thursday said it had arranged for family members to travel to be with the couple.
However, Mr Davis said there had been days of uncertainty before they heard from the airline.
"When you've got a vacuum like that, you start thinking what the hell is going on," he said.