England fans were left terrified when their World Cup plane was hit by severe turbulence which left one fan and two flight attendants on the floor.
After eventually landing safely members of crew said: “That was the worst we’ve experienced for years.” The American Airlines flight was heading from Dallas, England’s first World Cup venue, to Boston, where the Three Lions play Ghana on Tuesday, when it ran into horrendous weather.
Over 50 England supporters were onboard AA Flight 1577. The plane lurched wildly after being hit by sudden turbulence an hour before landing in Boston. One crew member said: “I’ve experienced that once or twice in my career when a plane is out over the oceans but never anything that bad over mainland United States.”
England fan James Matthews, 39, from Lincoln said: “It was very, very frightening. The plane lurched violently to the left and then shuddered. It shook for quite a while before settling down. The crew were fantastic and the passengers sat in silence.
“Eventually people started looking back to check that their friends in different rows were ok.”Another said: “I was preparing to meet my maker. It was terrifying.” At least two members of the crew and a supporter were knocked over and had to pick themselves up from the floor of the plane. The flight landed 30 minutes late after being diverted away from the weather.
After reporting the turbulence the pilot was given a different route into Boston’s Logan Airport heading further north and then coming in from the West. He landed safely and passengers disembarked. No-one was injured in the incident.