TERROR7 MILES UP
Son asks dad, ‘Are we going to die?’ as plane drops 26,000ft in minutes
A DAD has spoken of the terror his family went through when a window on their holiday flight shattered in mid-air.
Iain Mitchell, his wife Audrey and their son Innes were gripped by panic when the aircraft fell 26,000ft in a couple of minutes.
Innes, 15, asked his dad, “Are we going to die?” as the captain announced he was about to make an emergency landing.
The Icelandair Boeing 757, which was carrying another 152 passengers and seven crew from Florida to Reykjavik, then landed “rockily” in Bagotville, 125 miles north of Quebec in Canada.
Now back home in Coatbridge, Iain, 55, said he and his family are still “shattered and exhausted” by the frightening experience.
He said: “We were flying home from Orlando to Iceland, then onwards to Glasgow. I’d just taken some medication and said to Audrey I was probably going to fall asleep. The next thing I know, I was wakened by Audrey saying, ‘Something is happening’. The air hostess then said, ‘Tables up, tables up, we are going to have to land’.
“Audrey said the plane was going down and the turbulence was pretty bad. You could see the nose of the plane was pointing downwards.
“We dropped 26,000ft, then the captain announced we had to land.
“It wasn’t a normal smooth landing. It was a bit rocky and you could see lots of emergency vehicles on the runway.
“We were all very shaken up and were sat on the tarmac waiting to get off the plane when the captain announced a window had shattered in the cockpit.
“it’s all just sinking in now. We’re all pretty exhausted and just so glad to be home safe and sound.”
Icelandair said: “The aircraft was over Canada when pilots noticed a crack in one of the cockpit windows. Following standard procedures, they diverted to a nearby airport in Bagotville.”