Scary mid-air plunge prompts Qantas email

A Qantas Boeing 737 touching down at Wellington Airport. File photo / Mark Mitchell

Passengers on a Wellington to Sydney flight took a terrifying mid-air plunge that knocked the aircraft off its axis as it flew in to land.

A Wellington woman on the Qantas flight said it suddenly lost height while cornering shortly before touching down in Sydney.

The fuselage also tilted so it was nearly vertical to the ground, she said.

"One wing dropped right and so we were falling violently for about two seconds. Everyone clasped on to the front of their seats and there was a collective squeal," said the woman, who did not want her name published.

"It righted itself but no one said anything."

Passengers were fastened into their seats at the time.

The next day they were sent an email saying the flight had hit "some turbulence on descent and we appreciate this may have been unpleasant for you".

"We do our best to make your journeys run smoothly, thank you for your understanding," the email said.

A Qantas spokesman yesterday confirmed none of the 144 passengers on board was injured.

"[The flight] experienced turbulence caused by a wind gust as the aircraft was coming in to landing at Sydney International Airport.

"The level of turbulence felt by customers is not uncommon in high-wind situations. The aircraft landed as per normal."

Upon arrival, the captain spoke to the customer service manager on board, who confirmed there were no injuries to passengers or crew, the spokesman said.

But on the day, passengers were in the dark about what happened and everyone simply got off as normal, the Wellington woman said.

"I think pretty much everyone would have been quite shocked," she said. "I was happy when it righted itself. I'm not a terrified flyer.

"It was just kind of weird that [Qantas] didn't say anything and then sent an email."

Another woman on the flight was happy with Qantas' response, but said she was scared by what happened as everyone around her "screamed or made loud noises".

"I was quite shocked but if we're going to crash, we're going to crash, so me screaming isn't going to do anything about it," she said.