Elton John faced a terrifying situation when he was flying from the UK to New York, after his private jet suffered a hydraulic failure at 10,000 feet in the air.
The iconic singer was traveling to New York City for a special performance of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour at Madison Square Garden, however just an hour into the flight something went wrong with the aircraft and the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing, quickly making a U-turn near the coast of southern Ireland.
On top of the malfunction, the tripulation was facing winds reaching 8mph, making it harder for the pilot to land. A witness described the scary situation, declaring that “The jet was being buffeted and couldn’t land. It was horrible to see.”
The pilot aborted landing twice, while many gathered at Farnborough Airport, including ambulances and fire crews, waiting for the private jet to finally land safely.
Another witness at the airport said that “the plane was being buffeted and couldn’t make it,” explaining how “The aircraft’s nose was far too vertical” and “The plane was descending and was halfway along the runway when it gave up trying to hit the tarmac.”
“It was only at the third attempt to land that the plane got down. The pilot made a flatter approach and the wind had dropped slightly. Everyone watching was mightily relieved,” plumber Philip Thomson revealed after witnessing the landing.
And while the situation seemed to be absolutely terrifying, Elton later went on to board a flight to NYC and performed as scheduled.