(CelebrityAccess) — Sir Elton John had a scary few moments in the air after his private jet suffered a mechanical failure at 10,000 feet and was forced to make an emergency landing.
According to The Sun, Sir Elton and his husband and manager, David Furnish, were flying from Farnborough in the UK to New York City, where Elton was scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden when the in-air mishap occurred.
However, shortly after takeoff, the plane, a Bombardier Global 5000, suffered a hydraulic failure and was forced to declare an emergency and turn back to Farnborough Airport, where emergency crews were alerted.
The situation was made all the worse by high winds at the airport, which forced the pilot to abort two different attempts at an emergency landing.
One witness, Philip Thomson, described the troubled landing to The Sun.
“The plane was being buffeted and couldn’t make it. The aircraft’s nose was far too vertical. The plane was descending and was halfway along the runway when it gave up trying to hit the tarmac. It soared back in the air,”
“A crowd had gathered after word went around that Elton was in difficulty. And as the plane came around again for a second attempt to land, the storm was doing its worst.
“The airport’s windsock was horizontal and the aircraft was being rocked from side to side by the wind.
“The pilot made a valiant attempt to get down with the jet ‘crabbing’ into the storm. But it didn’t make it and had to head back upwards.
“It was only at the third attempt to land that the plane got down. The pilot made a flatter approach and the wind had dropped slightly. Everyone watching was mightily relieved.”
Fortunately, the plane was finally able to land and despite the mid-air scare, Sir Elton was able to find another flight and make it to MSG on time for the show.
