A plane tried to land twice during a turbulent storm as screaming passengers wrote goodbye notes to loved ones.
Passengers described how items freefell in the cabin as the aircraft plunged great distances while repeatedly circling the airport, trying to land in the strong winds.
Cathay Pacific flight CX341, departing from Shanghai to Hong Kong, became embroiled in the storm on the evening of 30 April.
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The region had been battered by heavy rains in the preceding days.
The plane undulated violently in the night sky and many passengers feared for their lives.
Some people took out their mobile phones and started to type farewell messages to loved ones.
One passenger, surnamed Wang, said the plane was unable to land the first time it arrived over Hong Kong.
She said the aircraft quickly climbed from an altitude of around 1,000 feet to over 8,200 feet and everyone around her appeared scared.
The pilot later attempted a second landing, but was again thwarted by the harsh weather conditions.
Wang added: “I stayed in a weightless state for a long time.
“If I didn’t fasten my seat belt, I don’t know where I would have been thrown to.”
She said the plane shook violently during the landing attempts, adding: “There was a grinding sound and everyone in the cabin was screaming.”
Wang also said that several passengers couldn’t bear the turbulence and were vomiting in their seats.
She added: “It felt like a brush with death.”
During the flight, the captain informed the passengers that they were unable to land due to the weather and apologised to those on board.
The flight was originally scheduled to take off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 4.50pm, but was delayed until 7.10pm that evening.
It was eventually diverted to Shenzhen and then took off again before arriving at its destination at 2.42am.
A flight tracker showed that the plane circled over Hong Kong multiple times.
Cathay Pacific said a total of nine flights had to be diverted to Shenzhen due to the weather conditions.
All passengers eventually made their way to Hong Kong after lengthy delays, as reported by Need to Know.
The airline provided accommodation, meals and transportation for affected passengers, and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
