‘Plane started to plummet’: Passengers scream as Turkish Airlines flight hits turbulence

Passengers screamed as severe turbulence jolted a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Tunisia during its descent on Thursday, with one traveller saying the aircraft “started to plummet” after three attempts to land in stormy conditions.The flight was approaching Tunis-Carthage International Airport when bad weather disrupted the landing. The aircraft was eventually diverted to Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport, around 60 miles south of Tunis.Passenger Marina Maiskaya shared a video of the incident on Instagram, showing passengers gripping their seats as the aircraft shook and screams could be heard throughout the cabin.“The flight itself was smooth, but things turned absolutely terrifying as soon as we began our descent,” she wrote.“I have never in my life feared for my life like that, and my mom was with me, too.”Maiskaya said the pilot made three attempts to land at Tunis-Carthage International Airport while flying through the storm.“The pilot tried to land the plane at the same airport three times, flying right through a storm! We were shaken violently each time, and on the third attempt, we actually started to plummet,” she wrote.Passengers could be heard screaming as the aircraft appeared to suddenly lose altitude. “Here we started to fall down for a few seconds like free falling,” she said in the video.However, TOI could not independently verify the video. The aircraft was eventually diverted to Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport, where it landed safely.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.