The plane had been travelling from England to New York and was an hour into its journey when the problems began, which forced the plane to head back towards Farnborough Airport, which was located approximately an hour away from London.
However, gusts of wind which were reportedly in excess of 80 miles per hour, which made this landing quite difficult.
A witness had told The Sun newspaper, “The terrible weather and epic gusts made it almost impossible to land. Two attempts to touch down failed".
“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".
The first landing proved to be too dangerous. The pilot reapproached for additional attempts. Emergency crew, including fire and rescue support were readying on the ground.
At this point, a crowd had also began to gather when word spread about who the owner of the plane was.
“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 witness added. “The airport’s windsock was horizontal and the aircraft was being rocked from side to side by the wind".
After another aborted landing, the pilot finally managed to get the plane back on the ground. Elton John was en route to New York, where he was scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden on February 22 and 23 as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
Elton John soon boarded another flight to New York. “It was a white-knuckle ride and Elton was shaken. But he put aside any personal anguish to get back on a plane", a source said. “For Elton, quite literally, the show must go on".
