Never been this scared on a flight before- can you help?
Never been this scared on a flight before- can you help?
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TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
We had a great flight up until that point, Eurowings Flight EW464 from Cologne to Heathrow and were approximately 30 mins from landing. Weather was clear, approx 25k feet. No seatbelt signs, everything was smooth- when all of a sudden the plane banked 30 degrees to starboard and at the exact same time dropped 4-500 feet in 5 seconds. It felt like we lost the wing or an engine on that side. We were pulling 1.5G or so at least and people were screaming as we plummeted. I thought it was the end and this is how I die.

The drop felt deliberate- I've flown for 45 years (my dad was a 747 Captain with Singapore Airlines) and this was totally unique.

As we eventually maintained steady flight, the plane banked every-so-slightly back to starboard and we just started drifting. Almost like we were not being flown at all anymore and the Airbus 319 was ungoverned. Drifting. spoliers on the port side slightly raised as we did so.

The seatbelt sign didn't come on, there were people hyperventilating and sobbing but I was wondering if this was just the start (see Germanwings flight from 2015), The pilots said nothing. Not even when we landed- nothing. Sinister and eerie.

Deliberate? Severe turbulence? Other?

Even leaving/ taxxing out of Cologne, the pilot was going quickly, even rolling onto the runway at 50 knots or so before throttling up to take off


Edited by TopTrump on Saturday 23 August 16:20

TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
Flight was PM on Thursday evening- 21st Aug

CountyLines

3,380 posts

19 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
Whos Jude?

How did you measure the G force?

essayer

10,222 posts

210 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all

768

17,176 posts

112 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
This one? Doesn't seem visible in the ADS-B data.

https://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/EWG464/hist...

Batfoy

1,323 posts

22 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
What did Jude say when you asked him/her? Did they take a sad song and make it better?

sherman

14,517 posts

231 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
Did the steward just give the flight crew a cup of really hot coffee in a cheap paper cup 1 minute before this abrupt manouver?

TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
768 said:
This one? Doesn't seem visible in the ADS-B data.

https://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/EWG464/hist...
That's the one

TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
CountyLines said:
Whos Jude?

How did you measure the G force?
Does it matter? Are you going to help or just be a bellend?

JoshSm

1,728 posts

53 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
768 said:
This one? Doesn't seem visible in the ADS-B data.

https://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/EWG464/hist...
Don't know if there's a better dataset but you can see something happened at 13.20, the descent is interrupted and the aircraft climbs before continuing to descend again. Airspeed briefly increases too which is a glitch in the overall trend.

Looks like an autopilot descent up to that point as the plot is so straight, after that the profile is different for 5 or 6 minutes.

normalbloke

8,127 posts

235 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
Did you have your seatbelt on?

CountyLines

3,380 posts

19 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
TopTrump said:
CountyLines said:
Whos Jude?

How did you measure the G force?
Does it matter? Are you going to help or just be a bellend?
It will help the NTSB investigation if you answer the questions.

Sheepshanks

37,655 posts

135 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
It did make a left turn over the North Sea about 30 mins out which is out of line with that flight’s usual track.

I’d say the pilots forgot where they going and had an “oh st” moment.

ATG

22,269 posts

288 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
OP, what "help" are you after? Sounds like you hit some turbulence and that triggered some understandable hysteria amongst the passengers and fired up your imagination. Could have been the wake of an aircraft ahead of you, could have been clear air turbulence, who knows? (no one on this thread).

croyde

24,926 posts

246 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
Odd that there was no communication from the pilots.

rallye101

2,440 posts

213 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
croyde said:
Odd that there was no communication from the pilots.
Busy flying the plane, clear air turbulence I'm guessing

TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
normalbloke said:
Did you have your seatbelt on?
Yes thank goodness as did everyone, including the stewards.

TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
Sheepshanks said:
It did make a left turn over the North Sea about 30 mins out which is out of line with that flight’s usual track.

I’d say the pilots forgot where they going and had an “oh st” moment.
Surely though they could do the course correction gradually and with little to no height correction

TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
ATG said:
OP, what "help" are you after? Sounds like you hit some turbulence and that triggered some understandable hysteria amongst the passengers and fired up your imagination. Could have been the wake of an aircraft ahead of you, could have been clear air turbulence, who knows? (no one on this thread).
Closure/ understanding I think. I am not able to really understand teh flight data or anything and my hope was a pilot or expert could offer some interpretation of events.

TopTrump

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

190 months

Saturday 23rd August
quotequote all
rallye101 said:
Busy flying the plane, clear air turbulence I'm guessing
But why afterwards, once settled pop the seatbelt sign on and offer the explanation as to what happened?



(sorry can't multiquote)