Imagine being aboard that Boeing 777 – tired and ready to get off that plane after a 7-hour flight from Dubai to Birmingham, England, and not being able to land! Not to mention the fear and terror of feeling that plane being pushed from side to side the winds were so strong, as eye witnesses described. And then, finding out that the pilot can’t even land after two attempts.
The airline, operated by Dubai-based Emirates Airlines couldn’t land straight due to the high crosswinds and nearly came in sideways after two attempts in heavy storms hitting the area on Thursday.
The Birmingham Mail stated that after those two unsuccessful landing attempts, the pilot had to fly another 100 miles to London’s Gatwick Airport, where it finally landed safely. The passengers were so shook up that some swore, they were just never going to fly again.
Never flying again…damn planes
— Brian Ownby (@BrianOwnby22) December 6, 2013
A spokesperson for Birmingham Airport told The Birmingham Mail that, despite the heavy storms, no flights were cancelled. Also, that two other planes had been diverted because of the wind, but that conditions were forecast to ease up going into the evening.
According to witnesses, the Emirates Boeing 777 missed two approaches at Birmingham Airport before being diverted to London Gatwick Airport.
A smaller Brussels Airlines Dash 8 turboprop was also unable to land, amid wind speeds of between 60mph and 80mph Thursday while descending onto the runway, but the pilot managed to land the plane safely.
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