Terrifying footage shows plane flying through Mallorca storm

A flight to Majorca experienced extreme turbulence on Sunday as it approached the Spanish island that was being battered by a heavy storm, terrifying video has shown. The mid-air ordeal left passengers fearing for their lives as the plane flew from Alicante in southern Spain to the Balearic Island in the Mediterranean. Estela Orts, a dancer and acrobat known for her performances in Magaluf’s famous Pirate Show, posted video of the flight on Instagram . The footage showed the plane shaking violently as her frightened fellow passengers clung to their seats, with Orts writing that she feared that ‘THIS IS IT’ when the plane shook and dropped – causing people to scream, cry and vomit in what felt like an ‘eternal’ moment.

Areas of north-east Spain, as well as Majorca, were battered by 75mph winds and torrential rain over the weekend, forcing some families to run for their lives and stranding others on the island as flights were cancelled. A small number of people were injured during a ‘weather-related incident’ involving P&O Cruises Britannia ship moored in the Spanish island, while on the mainland people had to be rescued from their cars in floodwater. Port authorities in the capital Palma said the ship collided with a petrol tanker because of high winds. The BBC said it broken free of its moorings in a storm. Similarly terrifying scenes were unfolding in the air, Orts’s video shows.

In a lengthy post to her social media, the acrobat wrote that she was ‘BORN AGAIN’ after the experience on the plane, while also thanking the pilot for navigating what she said were ‘130km/h cross winds’ that prevented them from landing. ‘Now I am calmer… TODAY I WAS BORN AGAIN. I hope the pilot of the plane reads this: THANK YOU, thank you for what you did today, you didn’t have to apologize to us, the minutes felt like forever but in the end it was just a scare. It was the first time in my life that it has ever crossed my mind to think that THIS IS IT,’ she wrote. The Spaniard explained that she was flying back to Majorca from Alicante having visited family there when the turbulence struck. She said the flight was delayed due to the weather, but eventually departed.

When they took off, she wrote, she and her fellow passengers experienced some turbulence and that the take off felt ‘strange’ but normal. ‘I had already written to my family (who were a bit scared), because they had seen the storm on the news,’ Orts wrote. Soon, things got worse. ‘[Then] IT HAPPENED,’ she told her Instagram followers.The plane started to fall. People and children screaming, being sick, I couldn’t help crying. I don’t know how long that moment lasted but it felt eternal.’ ‘Until the pilot managed to stabilize the plane, it was like a roller coaster. Nobody said anything over the loudspeaker about what was happening, even when it was stabilized,’ she recalled.

‘Some time passed and the pilot explained why he didn’t speak and it seems logical to me why: 130km/h CROSS WINDS. We tried to land and we couldn’t, 2 laps around the island and it was impossible to descend, suddenly we stopped seeing the island and started to climb. The pilot decided that the best option was to return to Alicante. 10:30am we took off 12:36pm we landed (Normally the flight lasts 40 min).’ After her message, Orts shared a video clip from inside the plane. The aircraft can be seen bouncing and rattling around, and passengers can be heard screaming. One lady is seen clinging on to the seat in front of her while what appears to be an item of clothing is seen hanging down from the luggage compartments.

Despite the chaos, as the camera pans around, a young passenger sitting behind Orts can be seen grinning and laughing – seemingly un-phased by the turbulence. According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, Orts is currently back in Alicante waiting for a flight to Majorca on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, separate footage showed the P&O Cruises Britannia ship as it was buffeted by the heavy winds on Sunday. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the incident. ‘P&O Cruises Britannia was involved in a weather-related incident while alongside in Palma de Mallorca. A small number of individuals sustained minor injuries and are being cared for by the onboard medical centre,’ they said. ‘To allow our technical teams to make an assessment Britannia will remain alongside in Palma de Mallorca tonight with onboard entertainment and activities scheduled.’

Britannia, which entered service in 2015, is 330 meters long and weights 143,000 tons, according to the company’s website. It has 13 guest decks and an operating capacity of 3,647 guests and 1,350 crew. The footage came after a British couple described how they had to run to for their lives with two children and a baby in a pram as 75mph winds and torrential rain battered Majorca over the weekend. Jessica Gorman and her fiancé Scott, who got engaged the day before the terrifying storms ravaged the island, said that what had started off as a lovely family stroll to the old town market in Puerto Pollensa soon ‘turned to mayhem’. Ms Gorman, who is from Reigate, Surrey, told MailOnline how she had to brave the hurricane-force winds with her three-month-old baby Ritchie, five-year-old son Roman and seven-year-old boy Piers because there were no taxis around. ‘We actually had to run as quick as we could for half an hour to our hotel,’ she said. ‘The roads were empty, there were no cars driving, it was like a ghost town. The kids were screaming and we were worried about the baby obviously being so young. It was so windy, I felt like the the pram was moving side to side… it was horrendous.’

Holidaymakers also shared footage of tourists running for shelter as sun loungers were sent flying across swimming pools and beaches on the island which is usually associated with blistering heat and sunshine in August. Severe warnings were issued across the holiday hotspots of Majorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera on Sunday as hotel resorts were left unrecognizable after being lashed by fierce winds, rain and hail. Palm trees have come crashing down and flying debris has been launched across resorts, while motorists were also struggling to navigate through flooded roads and poor visibility.

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