A passenger aboard a Ryanair flight forced to turn around due to a mid-air emergency has likened the experience to something straight ‘out of a horror movie’. The Boeing 737 MAX which was headed for Tenerife from Birmingham had to do a U-turn after a 7700 squawk was issued mid-air. 

The code signified a general emergency and was delcared when the flight headed over Brittany, France at 35,000ft. The passenger told said: “It felt like something you see on a horror movie”.

“We were smooth cruising then out of nowhere all of a sudden the plane jerked to the left extremely quickly and then to the right, it felt like a loss of control, and then we plummeted down and we were flung out of our seats,” the 33-year-old passenger from Lichfield, who did not wish to be named added. 

According to The Aviation Herald the flight experienced turbulence resulting in several passengers suffering injuries while cabin service was underway. The flight then made a U-turn and descended to FL100 (flying at 10,000ft).

The plane touched back down at Birmingham airport approximately one hour and 32 minutes after take-off. The woman added: “I came out physically unharmed but the mental toll this has taken it awful… this has really traumatised me.”

According to AirLive, it was parked on a remote stand at the airport for paramedics to attend to passengers. The severity of the passengers’ injuries is yet to be determined.

She continued: “The cabin crew said within their 10 years as cabin crew they’ve never experienced anything like it.” Other passengers alleged seeing a fighter jet pass the Boeing before the incident, but this has not been confirmed. 

Ryanair said in a statement: “”FR1121 from Birmingham to Tenerife on 28th December returned to Birmingham Airport shortly after take-off due to air turbulence. The aircraft landed normally before passengers disembarked and returned to the terminal, where a small number of passengers were provided with medical assistance. This flight continued to Tenerife at 21:06 local.”

The Mirror has reached out to the airline for further comment.