'Everybody was stuck on the ceiling': Freak hailstorm plunges plane 11,000 feet

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, May 28, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

"All hell broke loose."

That's how vacationer David Mallon described the horror that took place on a what turned out to be a not-so-routine flight Monday night.

The Airbus A321 was less than an hour from landing in Manchester, England, when it slammed into a freak hail storm over Germany that ripped into the plane's nose cone, plunging the craft some 11,000 feet amid the screams of terrified passengers.

Hail ripped into plane's nose cone (BBC)

"The plane just dropped and started vibrating," Mallon told the London Telegraph.

"Everybody was stuck on the ceiling. We were out of our seats for a few seconds and that happened two or three times. There were people in the aisles. It was an experience I don't ever want to go through again. The plane must have dropped thousands of feet and slowed right down. Then the pilot came on, calm as you like. We were scared to death."

Mallon's wife Pat described the experience like being on a roller coaster as they were lifted from their seats.

"As I looked to the left there was a man on the floor sliding towards the cockpit," she told the London Times. "As I looked to the right there were several elderly people on the floor but they were told to stay down because it was safer there. ... I really thought we were going down."

Bruce Johnstone, a New Zealand photojournalist said he would have bounced off the ceiling had he not been buckled.

"People were thrown out of their seats. Some people were in the aisles on the floor. I was just hanging on for dear life. We had hit hail, blocks of ice. We heard it and it sounded like a machine gun."

Gary McIlroy, 35, was on vacation with his fiancee, and told the Scotsman he thought his "time was up."

"We went into a dive about four times and everyone was screaming. There was an elderly couple behind us and the woman fainted and her husband cracked his head on an overhead locker. The hailstones pounding the plane felt like someone hitting the roof with a hammer and this kept happening for 45 minutes."

The pilot of the BMI flight from Cyprus was finally able to gain control of the plane after dropping to an altitude of 23,000 feet to avoid the worst of the weather.

The cockpit windshield was cracked by the ice, and a hole the size of a football in the nose cone testified to the ferocity of the storm.

"We really didn't realize how bad it was until we saw the outside of the aircraft," Bruce Johnstone of New Zealand told the Glasgow Daily Record. "Everyone clapped and cheered when we landed."

Miraculously, no one was seriously injured in the incident, and an investigation into the incident is now underway.

BMI issued a statement saying: "The aircraft flying from Larnaca in Cyprus experienced adverse weather conditions during the flight. While it sustained visible external damage, none of the aircraft's operational control systems were affected. The aircraft, as a precautionary measure, is now with the airline's engineers for a detailed inspection."

[JohnHuang2]

Wednesday, May 28, 2003

Quote of the Day by Bubba_Leroy

[Qwerty]

No matter how often I tell myself that I don't need to know plane horror stories, I always click on them.

Sounds like some people got the scare of their lives...

[WaterDragon]

At moments like that one you know pilots earn ten times whatever they are paid!

[19th LA Inf]

I remember a flight from Mexico City to Acapulco on a DC-6 in 1961 (our honeymoon as a matter of fact). In those long gone days the the cockpit was open to the cabin, there was no flight engineer on the Aeronaves ships, and from the front row of seats I could actually read some of the instruments and see out the windshield. We had leveled at 14,000 on a beautiful clear morning. Seat belt sign was off when we hit a terrific downdraft and I came out of my seat, holding myself down by the armrests, my new wife doing the same. To top it all off, a horn started blowing loudly in the cockpit right in front of me. I thought it must be the stall warning and we were about to spin in. Later I realized the pilot had slammed the throttles closed and it was the gear warning horn. The pilot was craning his neck back through the door to see if everyone was still with us. No one injured, but it was an unforgettable experience.

Later on the return flight I was impressed to see a 4-stripe captain out on the wing with a dipstick checking the tanks. Made me feel that I was in good hands.

[WaterDragon]

Pilots are a special breed.

Glad you and your bride made that trip safely!

[glorgau]

When you're on an airplane, sitting in a seat always leave your seat belt on. Always.

[Brian Allen]

<< ..... as a precautionary measure, is now with the airline's "engineers" ...... >>

"Engineer" -- Limey-speak for Mechanic."

When not moving about the cabin

[And then only for short quick runs to the john!]

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT! [We put it there to keep the aeroplane butted up snug against your arse!]

[And pray the bloody idiot seated nearby who's too stupid to have his fastened doesn't land on you and break your back!]