Lufthansa jet nearly crashes in Hamburg
04 March 2008Air passengers came close to requiring their travel insurance cover after a Lufthansa jet nearly crashed at Hamburg airport.
The plane, which was carrying 137 passengers, attempted to land during a wind storm on March 1st but skidded across the runway, causing the pilot to take the jet back into the air.
On a second attempt the aircraft landed safely and none of the people on board, who were travelling from Munich, were harmed, Spiegel Online reports.
German aviation experts claimed that the near-miss was an unprecedented incident in the country's history.
One passenger said that the moment of the plane's first aborted landing was "indescribable".
Lufthansa spokesman Wolfgang Weber told Spiegel Online: "Many [passengers] did not handle it well. Some were near tears."
The stormy weather in Germany caused many flyovers at Hamburg airport on March 1st, but the mishap involving the Lufthansa jet was the only dramatic incident.