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Extraordinary and disturbing video of a British Airways A320 flight buffeted by high winds is producing amazement around the world, with some observers feeling it looks more like control difficulties on the flight deck than just wind.

The footage is genuine, apparently, and it really was just strong wind.

Flight BA492 took off from London Heathrow airport yesterday morning and was due to land in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, near the Spanish coast, at 12:20pm.

It hit winds so strong it had to divert, eventually touching down at 12:41pm in the southern Spanish city of Malaga, CNN reported.

Video footage of the incident, which contains some strong language (as well as strong breezes), shows the plane seesawing from side to side as it battles with the wind.

The motion is pretty strange. It was wild and terrifying inside the plane.

The action has been posted on Twitter:

And it has also appeared on Facebook:

 

The man who shot the footage, Richard Whalley, works in Gibraltar port and heard loud aircraft engine noises during high wind so looked out and saw the plane “doing funny manoeuvres”.

Meanwhile, footage from inside the cabin has surfaced, with the London Sun reporting passengers were saying their prayers.

https://twitter.com/breakingavnews/status/1100094962153283586

Passenger Ramesh Samanti told local newspaper The Gibraltar Chronicle the flight felt like it was “out of control”.

“The plane was swinging from left to right and all you could hear were people shouting and screaming,” he told the Chronicle.

Another passenger wrote on Twitter: “The most harrowing flight today into Gibraltar from Heathrow! Terrified to say the least 😱 my husband and I looked at each other and thought this is it!”

British Airways said in a statement: “Due to strong winds in the Gibraltar area, our pilots decided to land in Malaga as a precaution.”

The airline arranged ground transport so passengers could continue their journey to Gibraltar.

Apologising to customers for the disruption, BA emphasised that “at no point was there a risk to safety. The safety of our customers and crew is always out number one priority”.

Written by Peter Needham