CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An American Airlines passenger jet was caught in a weather phenomenon known as a microburst as pilots attempted to land at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Saturday, federal officials said.
Eyewitness News anchor John Paul talked to one of the passengers about the landing and found out the damage it caused.
"People were screaming and stuff was flying out of the overhead," Christine Malloy said.
She thought she would not live through the ordeal.
"I definitely thought I was going to die... I had a million thoughts racing through my head, like, 'This is it. I'm going to prepare. I don't know what else to do.'"
PRESS PLAY-- Listen to passenger Christine Malloy recount her experience:
The Atlanta native was flying into Charlotte Saturday around 6:30 p.m. as a storm fired up.
American Flight 1851 was just over the runway when it dropped to the ground.
"It was hard and it was loud," Malloy said. "I fly a lot, I fly a lot. It was bad."
The near crash caused damage to the underbelly of the fuselage and runway lights.
Airport officials did not comment but the Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot reported wind shear as the reason.
"And we have about a 20-knot wind shear, loss about, about oh, 10 feet above," the pilot said to an air traffic controller.
"You said a 20-knot loss at 10 feet?" the tower said.
"Yes, sir," the pilot said.
Just after the botched landing, the pilot took off again at full throttle.
"The pilot took it completely straight back up in the air, straight back up, it felt like a rocket ship," Malloy said.
The plane circled back around and landed safely.
Air traffic controllers also warned other pilots about the weather problems.
The weather events that are dangerous for aircraft are hard to predict, meteorologist Keith Monday said.
"Especially in the case of this flight where it was right at landing," Monday said. "That can be some of the most dangerous times to have this happen because the plane is going a lot slower."
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