A report in the Sunshine Coast’s The Daily says that while most of us hid safely indoors through the worst of Wednesday’s tempest, Melissa Ord was hundreds of metres above Maroochydore making peace with God.
She was one of 177 passengers on Jetstar flight JQ782 from Sydney who experienced a terrifying flight through cyclonic conditions that was “like something from the movies”.
Melissa, 19, was travelling with daughters Tarni, 2, and Tori, 1, enroute to begin their new lives on the Sunshine Coast, with the young family was originally due to land at the Sunshine Coast Airport at Tuesday night, but wild weather forced the pilot to return to Sydney.
When they boarded the next flight at 8.30am the next day, the weather was deceptively placid, but by the time they were preparing to land in Maroochydore, the runway was hidden by the foul weather, and the entire plane was bucking, dipping and wobbling.
Pilot Tristan Drabowicz made two attempts to land, before making the decision to turn back to Brisbane. “The whole plane was shaking. I was right at the back and it was like being on a rollercoaster,” Melissa said.
“I was shaking and I couldn’t breathe; everyone was really scared.” “It was really windy, the wing went right down, and we were making sharp turns.”
“We were almost landed, but he couldn’t land it.” “We had to go back up in to the air.” “We had to do two more laps and then try again.”
Half an hour later, the diverted Jetstar flight made a rough but blessed landing on the Brisbane airstrip.
Melissa said she had never felt such sweet relief to be on land, adding, “As soon as the plane landed, and the wheels touched the ground, everyone started clapping for the captain,” she said.
“I asked everyone else on the plane if they thought they were going to die and they all said yes.”
Report by The Mole
