Screaming passengers wrote farewell notes to loved ones as a pilot twice tried to land a plane during a turbulent storm.
Passengers onboard a flight into Hong Kong described how items fell in the cabin as the plane plunged great distances while the pilot repeatedly circled the airport hoping to land in strong winds. Cathay Pacific flight CX341 departed from Shanghai and got caught in the storm at the weekend .
Heavy storms battered the region in the days leading up to the flight. The plane undulated violently in the night sky, leading many passengers to fear for their lives. Some passengers were even seen taking out their phones and started typing out farewell messages to loved ones. One passenger, only known by her surname Wang, said the plane was unable to land the first time it arrived into Hong Kong.
She said the aircraft quickly climbed from an altitude of about 1,000 feet to more than 8,200 feet and everyone around her appeared scared. The pilot later attempted a second landing but was once again thwarted by the harsh weather. “I stayed in a weightless state for a long time,” Wang said. “If I didn’t fasten my seat belt, I don’t know where I would have been thrown to.”
She added the plane shook violently during the landing attempts, adding: “There was a grinding sound and everyone in the cabin was screaming.” Wang continued, claiming several passengers could not bear the turbulence and were vomiting in their seats. “It felt like a brush with death,” she added.
The captain informed the passengers they were unable to land due to the weather and apologised to people onboard. The flight was originally scheduled to take off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 4:50pm but was delayed until 7:10pm that evening. The flight was diverted to Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong, and then took off once again before arriving at its destination at 2:42am.
A flight tracker showed the plane circled over Hong Kong several times. Cathay Pacific said nine flighted needed to be diverted to Shenzhen due to the weather conditions. All passengers eventually made their way to Hong Kong following lengthy delays, as reported by NeedToKnow.
