Partygoers flying home from Ibiza plunged 100m by massive electrical storm

Unlucky holiday makers returning from Ibiza experienced potentially the most stressful way to end a holiday after they were caught up in a massive electrical storm over Essex.

Passengers on a Ryanair flight were left terrified after their plane reportedly dropped 100m when it hit bad weather over Stansted. The flight, which should have taken roughly two-and-a-half hours instead took five after the plane was forced to circle inside the storm. One man described how the holiday makers screamed, vomited and prayed to land safely as the plane reportedly plunged hundreds of feet.

The 9:30pm Ryanair flight from Ibiza was meant to land at Stansted airport at 11.30pm on Tuesday night. However, on arrival they ended up circling the airport for two hours as a fierce electrical storm surged around them.

Passenger Alex Rayer, 38, said: “I put my hands together and prayed for God to keep my children and family safe first. There was lashing rain, huge streaks of lightning. Every ten seconds lightning went really close to the aeroplane and every time it struck it lit up the plane like something out of a horror movie. The lightning was just 50m (160ft) away.

“We came in for a landing and we got to within 200ft off the ground and suddenly the pilot whacked on the engines and we took off again. People cheered when we hit the ground, they cheered again when we slowed down and again when we stopped.

A spokesman for Stansted Airport said five planes were diverted away from the airport because of the storm and four returned later after refuelling.

[Via The Sun]