The Jetstar flight is forced to turn around as ‘all hell breaks loose’ on board and passengers say goodbye to their loved ones
Passengers have been left shocked as a Jetstar flight was forced to turn around after being hit by ‘wild’ turbulence.
The canceled flight from Auckland to Queenstown encountered turbulence so severe it threw passengers from their seats.
New Zealand’s South Island was hit by wind gusts of up to 150 kilometers per hour on Monday evening.
An 18-year-old passenger on board the plane told how ‘all hell broke loose’ as the plane descended due to the wind.
Jetstar passenger Dylan Steele said the plane’s wing was ‘flapping like a bloody feather’ in the high winds
“Everyone was screaming and throwing up during the flight,” Dylan Steele told the New Zealand Herald.
‘I was sitting next to the wing, so I looked out the window and all I saw was the wing flapping like a bloody feather.
“It was just wild, I’ve never experienced so much turbulence in my life. It felt like a rollercoaster ride.”
Mr Steele revealed that the turbulence became so bad that he began saying goodbye to loved ones.
“All I heard were the sounds of people being sick, and that was with headphones on.”
“Everyone was quite shocked and appalled,” he added.
The wind forced the flight to turn around as it began its descent.
Jetstar has apologized to affected customers as flights from several airlines have also been affected by the wind.
“Aircraft are designed to withstand turbulence far more severe than ever before and pilots and crew are well drilled and trained in dealing with turbulence,” an airline spokesperson said.
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans due to the high winds impacting Queenstown.
“Our teams are working to get customers to their destinations as quickly as possible, but safety is our first priority.”
Flights are generally delayed on takeoff or landing when winds reach 65 km/h, but some passenger planes have landed in winds of 90 km/h.