Kate Middleton and Prince William's Plane Forced to Turn Around Amid Electrical Storm

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s plane was forced to make an emergency landing after [...]

By Allison Schonter

Prince William and Kate Middleton's plane was forced to make an emergency landing after encountering a terrifying electrical storm on Thursday, Oct. 17. The royal couple, currently embarking on their royal tour of Pakistan, were reportedly traveling from Lahore to Islamabad, a flight that is only supposed to take 25 minutes, when the scary incident occurred, PEOPLE reports.

During the flight, which ended up lasting more than two hours, lightning could be seen over the right wing as the plane faced severe turbulence.

Video of the scary flight was captured and shared to Twitter by Press Association reporter Emma Louise Bowden.

Flying aboard a RAF Voyager, the pilot attempted to land the plane at two different airports before being forced to turn back to Lahore, where they managed a safe landing.

"Phew. Landed! But in Lahore," PEOPLE magazine Chief foreign correspondent Simon Perry tweeted. "A terrifying electrical storm hit as we tried to land at Islamabad. Lightning seemed to be crashing around the right wing. Despite the best efforts of the pilot of William and Kate's RAF Voyager plane we couldn't couldn't land there."

According to PEOPLE, after safely taxiing on the runway, the Duke of Cambridge "reassured members of the media at the back of the plane — and joked that he was the one doing the flying."

Prior to the nerve-wracking late night flight, the couple had kicked off their day at the SOS Children's Village, a charity in Lahore that provides a home and family structure to over 150 boys and girls. While there, they helped three children – Iman, 12, Ibrahim, 6, and Daniyal, 8 – celebrate their birthdays.

They then joined children at the National Cricket Academy before visiting a mosque and a cancer hospital that William's late mother, Princess Diana, had visited during her own trips to Pakistan back in the 1990s.

On Friday, they easily brushed off any lingering nerves from their flight to pay a visit to the Army Canine Centre in Islamabad, marking the end of their tour by meeting with handlers and their canines.

Their first trip to Pakistan, the tour has been called "the most complex tour" the pair have taken. Leaving behind their three children – Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 17 months, – largely focused "on showcasing Pakistan as it is today — a dynamic, aspirational and forward-looking nation."

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