AIR-RAISING BA passengers ‘say final prayers’ as plane from Heathrow tosses and turns (trunc)

The Sun UK ^ | 25 Feb 2019 | Gerard du Cann

[blueplum]

Full Title: AIR-RAISING BA passengers ‘say final prayers’ as plane from Heathrow tosses and turns ‘like a rollercoaster’ during extreme winds over Gibraltar

THIS is the terrifying moment a British Airways plane from Heathrow twists and turns during extreme winds over Gibraltar, forcing it to divert to Malaga. The video shows the Airbus A320, which can hold more than 180 people, being thrown around by strong winds as it approaches the airport, with the wings dipping and lifting by nearly 45 degrees...

[blueplum]

First video is from inside the aircraft; second video is external view of the aircraft in flight.

[dfwgator]

If you've been to Gibraltar, you'll know it's a very interesting runway there.

The plane literally crosses the street..

[dfwgator]

“First you say it, then you do it.”

[Berlin_Freeper]

Learning To Fly
https://youtu.be/s5BJXwNeKsQ

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Wow I need a geography lesson as I don’t know where that is but praise God for their safety. I panic even hitting the slightest turbulence and visibly pray. LoL I remember when a kind passenger sitting next to me offered me Xanax. We ended up talking rest of flight. Good for our nerves.

[SaveFerris]

[ The plane literally crosses the street.. ]

This isn’t the start of a chicken joke is it.....

[SaveFerris]

Other than an aborted landing attempt in a DC-9 in Oklahoma years ago, the most tossed I’ve ever been on approach was in an Airbus a319 coming into Denver - I think the new airport.

I don’t know if that’s normal or not, for that area. But if I had to go there again in an Airbus a319 I’m not sure I’d do it. I don’t know how many of them are still flying these days, though.

[airplaneguy]

I am a pilot for a major airline. I assure you even the people up front do our darnedest to give you a smooth ride if possible. We don’t like it anymore than you do. But rest assured the aircraft undergo tremendous testing and stresses before they ever carry paying passengers. So even though it’s very uncomfortable and nerve-wracking the airplanes are built incredibly strong.

[dp0622]

XANAX!!!! The pill that makes flying a little easier!

NOT that i’m advocating taking it without a script.

That’s illegal.

Went to Vegas with wife 3 years ago and we took Cessna to see Grand Canyon.

She is terrified of driving and even being in a car and that saddens me. It’s a manifestation of general anxiety.

But she had NO PROBLEM in a flying box that lurched with each gust of wind!!!!

I didn’t give a @#$@#$ about the Grand Canyon, I just wanted to land!!

No fear of driving, love my sports car. Good with the big planes.

DID NOT like being in that Cessna!!

[AlaskaErik]

I am a pilot for a major airline. I assure you even the people up front do our darnedest to give you a smooth ride if possible.

Yeah, right. We know how that really works....

[airplaneguy]

Haha! Thats funny.

[noiseman]

I love The Far Side. My favorite aviation one was, “Say.....what’s a mountain goat doing way up here in a cloud bank?”

[Telepathic Intruder]

The only time I can relax during a flight is a cruise altitude. The rest is white-knuckle. The cross winds were so bad at Portland PDX once that I was surprised the tires didn’t explode on landing.

[Cementjungle]

I am a pilot for a major airline. I assure you even the people up front do our darnedest to give you a smooth ride if possible. We don’t like it anymore than you do. But rest assured the aircraft undergo tremendous testing and stresses before they ever carry paying passengers. So even though it’s very uncomfortable and nerve-wracking the airplanes are built incredibly strong.

One time I was coming back up from Argentina, and we had 3 hours of extreme thunderstorms (over Brazil mostly). It was so bad the flight attendants had to stay strapped in the whole time. Lightning was flying everywhere, both sides of the plane, every few seconds it seemed. The plane was bouncing around like a cork floating down class 4 rapids.

I thought there was a better then 50/50 chance that were were not going to avoid getting broken apart or zapped by lightning.

After a long 3 hours things finally settled down, and the flight attendants proceeded to hand out a lot of much needed booze.

[21twelve]

Heading back from our honeymoon our plane hit a downdraft(?) out of the blue. The plane just dropped. All the trays went flying, a guy standing hit his head on the overhead and was bleeding.

My wife freaked out. It was over in an instant. After she calmed down she said “Your lucky this happened on the way home. Otherwise you would have had to book a cruise boat.
Or row me off that island!”

[libh8er]

I remember landing in Wellington, New Zealand a couple of years back flying in from Auckland and Wellington is notorious for approaches like this. I had watched every YouTube video to prepare myself for it but until we touched down I was clinging to my arm rests and praying. One of my scariest ever.

[Cementjungle]

LOL

[EnquiringMind]

Airplaneguy, watching the video of this plane’s wings dipping side to side, what if one of them dipped a little too much, could the plane roll upside down? And if so, could that be corrected or would it crash?

[eartick]

But rest assured the aircraft undergo tremendous testing and stresses before they ever carry paying passengers.

Good good, but how do you know that last stress test did not "stress" something creating a hairline fracture that the only thing holdin both wings on is thick air?

[pfflier]

Good good, but how do you know that last stress test did not "stress" something creating a hairline fracture that the only thing holdin both wings on is thick air?

That specific airplane did not receive a stress test. A prototype or initial production plane representing the fleet is tested, usually to destruction, to validate design loading.