Terrifying Cabin Video Shows Passengers Praying, Screaming As Plane Aborts 2 Landings At Mountain Runway | WATCH
Passengers on board flight AV9401 were captured crying, screaming, and openly praying as violent winds and a thick blanket of fog repeatedly threw the plane off its course.
Bogota: Harrowing footage of a passenger cabin turning into absolute chaos has gone viral across social media after a domestic Avianca Airlines flight was forced to abort multiple landings at one of South America's most hazardous mountain airports.
Passengers on board flight AV9401 were captured crying, panicking, and openly praying as violent wind shear and dense fog repeatedly threw the aircraft off its final approach.
The Airbus A320 was operating a routine domestic route from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Pasto, a remote city nestled deep within the Colombian Andes.
Terrifying Cabin Footage Goes Viral
As the commercial jet pitched heavily from side to side, desperate passengers could be seen white-knuckling their armrests.
The audible sounds of weeping and panicked screams filled the cabin, with several travellers succumbing to severe motion sickness.
Amidst the growing hysteria, Avianca’s flight attendants earned widespread praise for remaining remarkably composed.
Crew members paced the aisles, distributing bags and calmly instructing the panicked crowd to breathe deeply to stave off full-blown panic attacks.
Across the rows, numerous passengers resorted to vocal prayers, tightly clutching rosaries as the engines roared to climb back above the cloud layer.
Treacherous Table-Top of Pasto
The location of the ordeal explains the volatile conditions. Pasto’s Antonio Nariño Airport sits at an intimidating elevation of 5,951 feet above sea level.
Built on a dramatic mountain plateau surrounded by deep canyons, the runway is legendary among aviation experts for its incredibly difficult, rapidly shifting weather patterns.
During the flight's initial descent, thick alpine fog rolled across the valley, instantly dropping visibility to near-zero levels.
Simultaneously, high-velocity mountain winds rocked the twin-engine jet, making a stable approach impossible.
The aircraft remained grounded in the capital until weather tracking systems indicated a safe, stable opening.
A few hours later, the plane took off for a second time, landing successfully in Pasto without further incident.
"Safety is Our Absolute Priority"
As the dramatic cabin videos sparked heated online debates about passenger safety, Avianca Airlines issued an official statement strongly defending the flight crew's actions. "When conditions are not safe, pilots must abort the manoeuvre and try again or divert. It is a completely normal part of aerial safety protocols... Safety is our priority."
Aviation experts have echoed the airline's stance, emphasising that while go-arounds are deeply uncomfortable and terrifying for passengers, they represent a highly trained flight crew executing safety systems exactly as intended to prevent a catastrophic runway accident.
Published By : Namya Kapur
Published On: 28 May 2026 at 13:57 IST