A Ryanair flight bound for Tenerife was forced into an emergency return to Birmingham Airport after passengers were reportedly flung from their seats during sudden, severe turbulence at 35,000 feet.
'Like Something From a Horror Movie'
A 33-year-old passenger from Lichfield, who wished to remain anonymous, described the terrifying ordeal which occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, 28 December. The flight, FR1121, had departed Birmingham Airport at approximately 2.50pm and was cruising when the incident happened.
"We were smooth cruising then, out of nowhere all of a sudden, the plane jerked to the left extremely quickly and then to the right," the woman said. "It felt like a loss of control, and then we plummeted down and we were flung out of our seats." She added that the experience was "like something from a horror movie".
Mid-Air Emergency and Descent
According to reports, the turbulence struck while the cabin service was in progress, causing injuries to a number of people onboard. The aircraft's crew issued an emergency signal, squawk 7700, over Brittany in France.
In response to the emergency, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft turned around and descended to fly at 10,000 feet (FL100) for the remainder of the journey back to its origin. The woman reported that other passengers claimed to have seen a fighter jet pass by just before the violent shaking began, raising questions about air traffic detection.
She also revealed that cabin crew members stated they had never experienced anything like it in their decade of service.
Safe Landing and Aftermath
The aircraft made a safe landing back at Birmingham Airport roughly one hour and 32 minutes after it had taken off. It was directed to a remote stand where paramedics attended to passengers.
In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson confirmed: "FR1121 from Birmingham to Tenerife on 28th December returned to Birmingham Airport shortly after take-off due to air turbulence. The aircraft landed normally before passengers disembarked and returned to the terminal, where a small number of passengers were provided with medical assistance."
The airline confirmed that the same aircraft later continued its journey to Tenerife, departing at 21:06 local time. The passenger involved said that while she was physically unharmed, the mental toll of the event had been awful, leaving her traumatised and seeking answers about what caused the sudden extreme turbulence.
