Passengers aboard a Turkish Airlines flight screamed “we will die” as the aircraft battled severe turbulence while approaching a popular holiday destination. The terrifying ordeal unfolded as flight THY663 attempted to land at Tunis Carthage International Airport (TUN) in Tunisia on Thursday.
Footage shows the Airbus A321, which has a capacity of 220, shaking violently as thick storm clouds and rain engulfed the aircraft. According to data from flight tracking website Flight Radar, THY663 left Istanbul at 3.40pm local time (1.40pm BST). About two hours and 20 minutes later, the aircraft started approaching the airport, making three unsuccessful attempts to land.
30-minute ordeal before diversion
The ordeal lasted about 30 minutes before the Airbus A321 turned to Enfidha-Hammamet Airport (NBE), located south of Tunis. The flight eventually landed at NBE at 4.50pm local time (4.50pm BST), three hours after taking off from Istanbul.
Video shared online shows passengers screaming in fear, with some shouting “we will die, we will die”. One person on board claimed she felt the aircraft “fall down a few seconds, like free falling”. The video shows her crying with relief after landing, as other passengers clapped.
Same aircraft later lands at Tunis
The same aircraft then took off from NBE at 10.10pm local time (10.10pm BST), landing at TUN 24 minutes later. Mirror Online has approached Turkish Airlines for comment.
This comes after a Lufthansa flight bound for Washington DC was forced to abort its journey after declaring a mid-air emergency over the UK. Lufthansa Flight LH418, operated by an Airbus A340-600, left Frankfurt Airport at 1.30pm local time on Thursday, and was roughly two hours into its journey at around 34,000ft when it issued a squawk 7700 alert over northern Scotland.
Flight tracking data shows the flight descended from its cruising altitude and diverted towards Glasgow Airport, landing there on runway 23. The flight initially appeared to be heading towards Dublin Airport in Ireland, where emergency ground crews were reportedly on standby. The exact nature of the incident remains unclear as a squawk 7700 alert can refer to anything, from a medical issue on board to a technical problem with the aircraft.
