Prince William and Kate’s flight aborts landing twice after severe turbulence
‘I’ve never experienced turbulence like it’
Prince William and Kate’s flight to Islamabad in Pakistan was forced to abort landing twice and turn back to Lahore after thunderstorms caused severe turbulence.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were flying to the Pakistan capital on a Royal Air Force aircraft as part of their four-day official tour of the country when the incident occurred.
Footage taken onboard the flight shows members of the press who were travelling on the plane gripping their seats and laughing nervously as the plane shakes.
“Other journalists and reporters could see lightning and storms out of the window as the plane bounced around,” said Sky’s royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills.
“The crew tried to land at two airports in Islamabad but decided the storm meant it wasn’t safe to land and it was safer to fly back to Lahore.
Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding - memorable moments
Show all 8
Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding - memorable moments
1/8 First look at the wedding dress
As the Duchess of Cambridge stepped out of her car at the entrance of Westminster Abbey, the public were given their first full look at the bride's beautiful wedding dress. The duchess wore a gown created by London-based designer Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The dress was made of satin and featured an overlaid lace bodice and appliqued skirt. The bride's sister, maid of honour Pippa Middleton, also wore a dress by Burton, and made headlines on the day as she carried her sister's wedding dress train. 'It's a bit startling to achieve global recognition before the age of 30, on account of your sister, brother-in-law and your bottom," Middleton wrote in her 2012 book Celebrate, in reference to the attention her figure received in the media.
Getty Images
2/8 Eccentric wedding guest attire
In addition to the bride's wedding gown, one of the most memorable sartorial moments from the 2011 royal wedding was Princess Beatrice's choice of headwear. The royal's pale pink headpiece by London-based milliner Philip Treacy received a strong reaction in the media, with some comparing it to a 'pretzel'. Soon after the wedding, Princess Beatrice auctioned the fascinator off for charity. The headpiece was sold on eBay for more than £81,000, the proceeds of which was donated to charities Unicef and Children in Crisis. Treacy said he feared his head would be 'on a spike outside the Tower of London' following the intense reaction to the headpiece. 'But it was a very modern hat and modernity is always unusual thing,' he added.
Getty Images
3/8 A sentimental brotherly exchange
As the Duchess of Cambridge walked down the aisle in Westminster Abbey, eagle-eyed viewers watching the royal wedding on television spotted Prince Harry glance at his sister-in-law-to-be, before whispering something to the groom, Prince William. While it's unknown what Prince Harry said to his brother, some believe he may have made a joke to help with the groom's nerves.
Getty Images
4/8 Nervous whispers
As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stood next to each other in Westminster Abbey, Prince William was filmed turning to his bride and whispering something to her. It's widely believed that he said: 'You look beautiful.'
Getty Images
5/8 A brief moment of panic
For the estimated 26 million people in the UK who watched the royal wedding live on television on 29 April 2011, collective panic momentarily spread across the nation when Prince William appeared to struggle putting the wedding ring on the finger of his bride. Luckily, after a few seconds, the duke managed to slide the ring down his newlywed's finger much to the relief of onlookers.
AFP/Getty Images
6/8 Sealing their union with a kiss
The moment the public had been waiting for. Following their nuptials in Westminster Abbey, the royal couple travelled to Buckingham Palace, where they stepped out onto the palace's famous balcony. The duke and duchess then shared their first couple of kisses as a married couple, prompting cheers from the thousands of people below. The moment was reminiscent of the kiss shared between Prince Williams father and mother, Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1981.
Getty Images
7/8 The disgruntled flower girl
While the crowds expressed their delight in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kissing on the Buckingham Palace balcony, one individual in particular was not enjoying the occasion. One of the flower girls on the balcony made headlines when she was pictured covering her ears, a disgruntled expression on her face. The child in question was Grace Van Cutsem, Prince William's goddaughter.
Getty Images
8/8 Newlyweds on the road
Following all the pomp of the royal wedding, the duke and duchess drove away from Buckingham Palace in a vintage car, with Prince William at the wheel. The car was adorned with a number plate which read "JU5T WED", and had several balloons attached at the back.
Getty Images
1/8 First look at the wedding dress
As the Duchess of Cambridge stepped out of her car at the entrance of Westminster Abbey, the public were given their first full look at the bride's beautiful wedding dress. The duchess wore a gown created by London-based designer Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The dress was made of satin and featured an overlaid lace bodice and appliqued skirt. The bride's sister, maid of honour Pippa Middleton, also wore a dress by Burton, and made headlines on the day as she carried her sister's wedding dress train. 'It's a bit startling to achieve global recognition before the age of 30, on account of your sister, brother-in-law and your bottom," Middleton wrote in her 2012 book Celebrate, in reference to the attention her figure received in the media.
Getty Images
2/8 Eccentric wedding guest attire
In addition to the bride's wedding gown, one of the most memorable sartorial moments from the 2011 royal wedding was Princess Beatrice's choice of headwear. The royal's pale pink headpiece by London-based milliner Philip Treacy received a strong reaction in the media, with some comparing it to a 'pretzel'. Soon after the wedding, Princess Beatrice auctioned the fascinator off for charity. The headpiece was sold on eBay for more than £81,000, the proceeds of which was donated to charities Unicef and Children in Crisis. Treacy said he feared his head would be 'on a spike outside the Tower of London' following the intense reaction to the headpiece. 'But it was a very modern hat and modernity is always unusual thing,' he added.
Getty Images
3/8 A sentimental brotherly exchange
As the Duchess of Cambridge walked down the aisle in Westminster Abbey, eagle-eyed viewers watching the royal wedding on television spotted Prince Harry glance at his sister-in-law-to-be, before whispering something to the groom, Prince William. While it's unknown what Prince Harry said to his brother, some believe he may have made a joke to help with the groom's nerves.
Getty Images
4/8 Nervous whispers
As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stood next to each other in Westminster Abbey, Prince William was filmed turning to his bride and whispering something to her. It's widely believed that he said: 'You look beautiful.'
Getty Images
5/8 A brief moment of panic
For the estimated 26 million people in the UK who watched the royal wedding live on television on 29 April 2011, collective panic momentarily spread across the nation when Prince William appeared to struggle putting the wedding ring on the finger of his bride. Luckily, after a few seconds, the duke managed to slide the ring down his newlywed's finger much to the relief of onlookers.
AFP/Getty Images
6/8 Sealing their union with a kiss
The moment the public had been waiting for. Following their nuptials in Westminster Abbey, the royal couple travelled to Buckingham Palace, where they stepped out onto the palace's famous balcony. The duke and duchess then shared their first couple of kisses as a married couple, prompting cheers from the thousands of people below. The moment was reminiscent of the kiss shared between Prince Williams father and mother, Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1981.
Getty Images
7/8 The disgruntled flower girl
While the crowds expressed their delight in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kissing on the Buckingham Palace balcony, one individual in particular was not enjoying the occasion. One of the flower girls on the balcony made headlines when she was pictured covering her ears, a disgruntled expression on her face. The child in question was Grace Van Cutsem, Prince William's goddaughter.
Getty Images
8/8 Newlyweds on the road
Following all the pomp of the royal wedding, the duke and duchess drove away from Buckingham Palace in a vintage car, with Prince William at the wheel. The car was adorned with a number plate which read "JU5T WED", and had several balloons attached at the back.
Getty Images
“As soon as we landed, Prince William came to the back of the plane to check that the press pack was okay.
“I have flown a lot, especially on royal tours, but never experienced turbulence like it.”
Royal correspondent Rebecca English tweeted that there was “horrendous lightening and turbulence” but added: “Fortunately William has taken it in his stride – he just came back down the plane to see if we were OK and joked that he was flying!”
The pilot attempted to land twice – once at a military base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and once at Islamabad International – before aborting the attempt for safety reasons.
The plane landed safely in Lahore after spending more than two hours in the air for what was supposed to have been a 25-minute journey.
The couple stayed at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore overnight, while nearly 100 hotel rooms also had to be found for their entourage, security team and some 50 journalists.
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