Vortex sends plane into horrifying nose dive

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - Passengers aboard a Quantas airlines flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia were fearing for their lives as the plane reportedly took a nose dive over the Pacific Ocean for about 10 seconds.

The horrifying ordeal took place on Sunday June 10 about 1.5 hours into the flight according to passengers who thought they were going to die.

“We were all lifted from our seats immediately and we were in a free fall. It was that feeling like when you are at the top of a rollercoaster and you’ve just gone over the edge of the peak and you start heading down,"  recounted a passenger.

A vortex or wake turbulence is described as a severe change in the atmosphere behind an aircraft. In simpler terms, there is not enough space between the planes.

No one was hurt in the incident.

A Qantas spokeswoman told The Australian there had been no breach of separation standards. The two A380 aircraft were about 20 nautical miles apart and 1,000 feet in ­altitude.