Terrifying moment air passengers scream as they are lifted out of their seats by extreme turbulence which forced packed Miami-bound jet to turn around mid-flight and return to Europe
Terrifying video has shown the moment extreme turbulence hit a passenger plane, throwing passengers into the ceiling on a Miami-bound flight who were then forced to turn around and return to Europe.
The Scandinavian Airlines flight from Stockholm, which was supposed to take more than nine hours, was almost at its destination when Thursday’s alarming situation forced it to make a U-turn and fly all the way back.
After experiencing turbulence over Greenland, the packed plane returned to a base in Copenhagen to undergo checks amid concerns about technical problems.
A passenger on the flight, who was traveling with his wife, posted footage of passengers screaming as the plane rattled due to turbulence.
A woman sitting in his row is then thrown upstairs. ‘Look at her feet [ceiling]!’ he wrote. ‘I thought we were going to do that [die]’.
A woman’s foot is seen in the air as people were thrown through an aircraft cabin by heavy turbulence
Passengers are seen gripping the backs of seats as the plane rattled due to extreme turbulence
A passenger shared an image from inside the Scandinavian Airlines plane after it experienced heavy turbulence on Thursday and had to fly back to Europe
The image above shows the scene in the flight as it experienced severe turbulence
The Scandinavian Airlines flight took off from Stockholm at 12:55 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Miami at 5:45 p.m. local time, but decided to return to Europe when it reached the east coast of the US.
According to Scandinavian Airlines, there were 254 passengers and one baby on board the plane.
A passenger on board said they witnessed at least one person being injured, but an airline spokesperson said no serious injuries were reported.
They told MailOnline that the plane had to turn around because it did not have the necessary equipment in Miami to carry out the checks.
The passengers would be offered hotel rooms and will be flown to Miami on Friday, according to the airline.
Passengers posted photos on social media of the cabin during the turbulence – with items such as plastic cups, paper bags and a man’s backpack strewn across the floor.
In September, a Scandinavian Airlines flight had to be diverted after a rodent was discovered in a passenger’s meal.
The plane, flying from Oslo to Malaga, Spain, was forced to land in Copenhagen as a safety precaution after the mouse was found eating an in-flight meal.
Rodents on board aircraft can pose a safety risk because they can chew through critical wiring. Airlines usually have procedures in place to prevent such an incident.