Passengers on a UK-bound flight have spoken of the "dramatic" moment the pilot was forced to abort a landing after the plane became unstable in strong winds.
Travellers described the "scary" final 30 half hour of their journey as the pilot performed a 'go-around' in heavy winds before diverting to another airport.
A 'go-around' is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down, and took place after passengers felt "a big drop", reports the Manchester Evening News.
The terrifying incident took place on the Jet2 flight from Lanzarote to Manchester on Tuesday, with the pilot forced to land in Birmingham instead, after the plane began "tilting".
Jennifer Pardoe was en route back to Manchester Airport after a holiday in Lanzarote with her partner and three-year-old daughter. She said a number of passengers were unwell and younger travellers became upset during the turbulence.
She said: "It was a bit scary. We are all used to having a little bit of turbulence on a plane, and we were told there would be a bit of bad weather getting close to Manchester.
"It seemed normal, I remember the pilot telling us we were about 30 minutes away. We were coming through the clouds, and we could see the airport. Then suddenly we heard the engine kick in and felt a big drop. It was dramatic."
Jennifer said passengers went quiet, and even the cabin crew looked a bit unnerved, but the pilot kept the whole plane updated with what was happening.
"The pilot was very good," she said. "He explained and said we had to abort the landing and we had to go to Birmingham. That wasn't a very nice 20 minutes. I think we were all worried about the landing in Birmingham because that wasn't easy either.
"It was a bit scary when the plane suddenly pulled up. It was a bit like a rollercoaster. My daughter loves flying, but she went quiet. It was a big relief to get to Birmingham!"
She said the passengers all gave 'a round of applause' when the plane landed successfully, and said the cabin crew did 'a very good job'.
One social media user shared a screenshot of the plane's flight path, writing: "Did anybody just witness this aircraft over Stockport? I thought it was falling from the sky."
Sharing a picture of the aircraft flying low over south Manchester, one person wrote: "Winds really strong. I live on Shadow Moss and they've been getting knocked around all afternoon." Another commented: "Yes me too, I watched it. Was tilting left very bad."
A second flight from Gran Canaria to Manchester Airport was also forced to abandon its landing at Manchester Airport due to the weather conditions, lowering to around 1,000 ft before circling multiple times over parts of Bolton and Lancashire.
It then diverted to Newcastle Airport, where it landed shortly before 8pm. Jet2 confirmed that both flights had been diverted due to the weather conditions and that passengers would receive transport on a coach back to Manchester.
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