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Terror for travellers on their holiday flight
TERRIFIED holidaymakers today told how they thought they were "going to die" when a plane from Robin Hood Airport developed technical problems mid-flight.
Passengers on board Thomsonfly TOM491 to Alicante panicked as the jet plunged 40ft and oxygen masks dropped, following a fault with the air conditioning.
The Boeing 737 made an emergency landing at Barcelona Airport, where the 126 travellers were transferred to their destination by coach.
Carol Brough, aged 40, from Killamarsh, north Derbyshire, said: "About 40 minutes before the plane was due to land, it suddenly seemed to lose control. It plunged what seemed about 40 feet. It was like doing a bungee jump. It was a massive drop. I thought I was going to die. The cabin went very hot, then after about 10 minutes it went freezing cold. People's ears started popping."
Ms Brough, who runs a clay pigeon shooting business, added: "People were screaming and crying and the oxygen masks came down from the ceiling. The captain never told us what was going on - there was just mass panic and hysteria.
"Even the cabin crew were screaming and crying. I was crying so much I couldn't move to put on my mask. The man next to me told me not to bother. He said I would be better off blacking out than watching people around me die. I though we were going to have to evacuate into the sea. I am not the best swimmer and the thought of it petrified me. I just clung to a picture of my partner. I thought I was never going to see him again.
"Suddenly there was a big bump and we realised we had actually landed. A big cheer went up."
On arrival the passengers had to wait four hours for a coach which took another eight hours to reach Alicante.
The plane is the second Thomsonfly jet based at Robin Hood Airport to make an emergency landing after developing problems with on-board equipment. Days after it opened, a flight to Jersey had to return to the airport after the pilot discovered problems with the plane's landing gear.
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
