Two strangers sitting side by side on an extremely bumpy flight helped each other get through the terrible turbulence – bonding over the terrifying experience and leaving the internet awed by their new friendship.
Lila Smith, 21, of New York City, was on a United flight from Newark, New Jersey to Greenville, South Carolina, last week when the plane suddenly became extremely shaky.
Already a self-described “anxious flyer,” the intense turbulence left Lila worried something bad would happen.
But when she noticed that her neighbor named Sabrina was even more scared than she was, she started talking – and the two decided to endure the scary experience together.
Two strangers sitting next to each other on an extremely bumpy flight helped each other get through the terrible turbulence and left the Internet impressed with their new friendship
Lila Smith (right), 21, of New York City, was on a United flight from Newark, New Jersey to Greenville, South Carolina, last week when the plane suddenly wobbled extremely
The turbulence made Lila afraid that something bad would happen, but when she noticed that her neighbor, Sabrina, was even more afraid than she was, she started a conversation.
The two then decided to endure the scary experience together. They are seen holding each other during flight
They comforted each other by joking, linking arms and even sharing a shot of Jack Daniel’s whiskey – all of which Lila documented and shared on her TikTok account, where it went viral and has been viewed more than 1.5 million times .
“Me and my roommate Sabrina almost died,” Lila wrote at the start of the TikTok, while a video showed them drinking a mini bottle of alcohol together.
“Don’t fly United,” Sabrina said to the camera, before Lila jokingly asked her, “You can’t swim, can you?”
“No, I’m going to get one back for someone,” Sabrina replied and added. “I’m going to lie and say I’m pregnant so I can go first.”
In another clip, Lila told Sabrina that she farted while walking through the first class area as she boarded the plane, causing Sabrina to burst out laughing.
More footage showed them asking one of the flight attendants if “that severity” of the turbulence was normal, who assured them that they were indeed safe.
The TikTok ended with the ladies sitting in their seats after landing. Sabrina stuck her tongue out and signaled the camera as Lila revealed, “We lived to tell the story.”
“My new friend/seatmate Sabrina and I saw God on our United flight, but luckily Jack Daniel’s helped us,” Lila captioned the video.
They comforted each other by joking, linking arms and even sharing a shot of Jack Daniel’s whiskey – all of which Lila documented and shared on her TikTok account
“Don’t fly United,” Sabrina said to the camera, before Lila jokingly asked her, “You can’t swim, can you?” Sabrina replied: ‘No, I’m going to get someone back’
The TikTok ended with the ladies sitting in their seats after landing. Sabrina stuck her tongue out and signaled the camera as Lila revealed: ‘We lived to tell the story’
As we discuss the moment further with InsiderLila explained that the turbulence was the “worst” she had ever experienced and lasted about an hour.
“We were planning our escape if we crashed,” she told the network about how she and Sabrina got through it together.
“Sabrina and I were like, ‘If we’re going down on this flight, we’re going down together.’
Unfortunately, Lila revealed that she and Sabrina did not exchange information before going their separate ways.
“(I believe) we meet at certain times and places (for a reason),” she added.
Many people on the internet were captivated to see how the two ladies worked together to overcome their fear, and they took to the comments section to share their thoughts.
“Now I hope Sabrina has fun with her family – and maybe we’ll see each other in the back row on the way home.”
Still, many people on the internet were captivated to see how the two ladies worked together to overcome their fear, and they took to the comments section of her TikTok to share their thoughts.
“Actually, I don’t need love at first sight, I just need to meet a best friend on a plane,” one person wrote.
“You guys are so cute,” someone else said, while a third user added: “Why do I have fomo?”
“The fact that you guys didn’t know each other and just became friends, we need more people like this,” read a fourth comment.
“I’m going on plane rides just to make new friends, it seems like so much fun,” another viewer joked.