MAYOR of Mold and his consort have told of their terror at being on a plane which dropped 4,000 feet.

Mold councillors Bob Gaffey and Yvon Jones were on a Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Malta when the plane hit turbulence when flying above Milan on January 8.

The couple have praised the crew’s handling of the situation but say they feared the worst at the time as the plane dropped 4,000 feet before managing to rise back up 2,000 feet.

Cllr Jones said: “Bob and I managed to grab the last two priority seats at the front, but on different sides, so were separated.

“From early on we had been advised, by the attendant, to keep our seat belts on because of turbulence. I thought I knew turbulence as have been flying regularly to Malta now for nearly 40 years to visit my Maltese mother, family and friends.

“I had loosened my seat belt slightly in order to attain a comfortable sleep position and recall waking to turbulence.

“It was a couple of hours into the flight I was jolted upwards a few times, then side to side.

“I remember being nervous about attempting to tighten my seat belt as I was more afraid of flipping it open, so just held onto the belt as tightly as I could as I was again jolted repeatedly which went on for a few minutes but seemed a lot longer.”

She added: “I think it was the screaming and crying from passengers behind and how suddenly the storm came at us that upset me the most.

“It was then that I looked at Bob. His face was turned towards me, smiling. From then on I relaxed, knowing he had flown around Europe many times before, realising how lucky I had been not to have experienced such aggressive turbulence before, albeit, the screams were still discomforting.

“The staff were extremely calm and matter of fact which also instilled confidence.

“I knew nothing of what was happening behind me until we landed.

“A Greek attendant, sitting facing Bob told him that she had flown with Ryanair for eight years and this was the worst she’d been through.

“When we landed we were asked to wait while a doctor and ambulance crew were allowed on board to attend to passengers at the rear.

“Apparently someone had gashed their head after unfastening their seat belt. This was the only awareness we had received about the severity of this event that came from the staff.

“Bob said later that credit had to be given to the pilots who must have worked very hard to climb the plane after such a drop.

“Afterwards, he told me that he did think ‘our time was up’ and had given me a ‘goodbye smile’.”

The couple returned safely to the UK on January 15.

A spokesman for Ryanair said: “This flight from Liverpool to Malta experienced some turbulence approximately two hours into the flight.

“Five customers sustained minor injuries which did not require immediate medical attention.

“The captain called ahead to request medical assistance to stand by on arrival.

“The aircraft landed normally and the five customers were met by medics upon arrival in Malta.”