A Boeing 787 Dreamliner left passengers vomited in fear as it hurtled towards the sea following a reported cabin blunder.
Many "screamed in terror" on board the busy Qatar Airways' jet which had plummeted 1,000 feet inside seconds, reports say.
Only the quick-thinking of the captain after what is claimed to be a mistake by his co-pilot saved certain death for hundreds of people.
The flight departed Hamad International Airport in Doha heading for Norway on January 10.
Off-duty air traffic controller Lucas Andersson was on board with his family when he noticed something wrong very early into the journey.
The plane then dramatically dropped and panic took over.
It began to lose height at a rate of 50ft per second. Reports claim the first officer was in control, flying manually without input from the automated "flight director" computer.
Before the co-pilot's rescue act, the plane was just 850ft from from the sea surface - around 17 seconds from a watery grave.
Mr Andersson told MailOnline: “After around 70 seconds into the flight and from out of nowhere there’s this loud sound as the plane goes from pitch up to very much pitch down."
He said that people all around the cabin screamed and one person vomited as the aircraft rushed towards the ocean.
He admitted he was terrified as he tried to stay calm for the sake of his family.
“It crossed my mind that this is it, we are going down," he went on.
"It was very scary. It was a feeling of the plane being thrown towards the ground."
A report two years ago revealed that Boeing Dreamliners are among the world's safest planes.
Qatar Airways confirmed the incident in an official statement as their investigation continues.
“Qatar Airways is aware of an event relating to flight QR161 operating from Doha to Copenhagen on 10 January 2023,” the airline wrote.
“It was immediately reported to authorities and an internal investigation is being carried out.
"The airline follows the most stringent standards of safety, training and reporting and is working to address any findings in line with industry norms.”
Despite the terrifying incident, the aircraft continued its journey to Copenhagen.
But the near death experience had a positive ending.
The flight landed 23 minutes earlier that scheduled.
