Sir Elton John, the hugely successful British singer/songwriter, was reportedly trapped in a mid-air emergency when his private plane experienced a mechanical problem at 10,000 feet.
The Cold Heart singer was on board a flight destined for New York on February 21 when the plane experienced a hydraulic breakdown approximately an hour after takeoff due to strong winds.
Winds had reached up to 80 mph in the UK that day, and the landing was twice aborted.
His nail-biting experience began immediately after the £66 million ($89.7 million) plane took off from Heathrow at 10.20 a.m. bound for New York.
The aircraft encountered hydraulic failure at 10,000 feet about an hour into the flight, forcing the pilot to do a U-turn as he approached the coast of southern Ireland.
The pilot decided to return to Farnborough Airport in the UK, where he radioed air traffic control to request an emergency landing, according to reports.
At 11:19 a.m., police and ambulance teams were dispatched.
The runway was cleared as firefighters from six units rushed to the area.
“The plane was being buffeted and was unable to land.” Witness Philip Thomson told The Sun, “It was horrific to watch.”
“On that little plane, you wouldn’t have changed places with Elton for anything.” I’m sure he uttered a few thank-you prayers.”
The 74-year-old actor was believed to be frightened by the incident, but he was back on a plane to New York for a show only hours later.
The music legend has had a tough start to the year, having been forced to cancel gigs after testing positive for COVID in January.
Elton wrote to supporters at the time, informing them that he was “completely vaccinated and boosted” and had only been experiencing moderate symptoms.
“Thank you for all your love and support, as usual,” he said, “and I can’t wait to see you all soon.”
In September 2021, he was forced to postpone events due to a “awkward fall” that necessitated surgery.
He posted on Instagram at the time, “I landed awkwardly on a hard surface and have been in tremendous agony and suffering in my hip ever since.”
