Oxford Miss World contestant Eleanor Glynn vowed never to fly again after her flight back from the finals in Poland was caught in stormy weather.
Miss Glynn, 20, from Sandford-on-Thames, flew back to the UK on Sunday night after competing for the Miss World crown as Miss England in Warsaw.
But the beauty queen - who had to take a course to beat her fear of flying so she could go to Poland - was forced to endure a terrifying flight home to Luton Airport.
The flight out went smoothly, but on the return trip with Wizz Airlines, Miss Glynn's nerves were tested to the limit.
Angie Beasley, Miss England organiser who accompanied Miss Glynn on the plane, told how they were forced to: * Wait for more than 40 minutes as thunder and lightning surrounded the airport terminal in Warsaw before taking off at 6.40pm * Fly through turbulence over Europe * Circle for an hour above Luton Airport because of another storm.
When the flight came into land at Luton, about four hours after they took off, it bounced 20ft on the runway before finally coming to a halt.
Mrs Beasley said: "Everyone applauded when we finally stopped because it had been such a nightmare journey.
"We had to wait for a long time to get on the plane because of the storm, and we didn't take off for quite a while, and Eleanor begged me to take her off the plane.
"I managed to calm her down, but it took ages to get up to cruising level, and then there was lots of turbulence.
"Eleanor started panicking and she was shouting 'We're not going to make it!'. I tried to reassure her that everything would be OK, but the more she panicked, the more I started to think that she could be right.
"I was terrified too, but I tried not to show it because I could see she was in a bad way.
"She was shaking and squeezing hold of my arm - I have never seen anyone so frightened.
"Eleanor vowed never to fly again after this and, if we have to send her to any more Miss England jobs abroad, she will have to go by boat or plane.
"I couldn't believe it when I realised we were seated in row 13 - Eleanor was convinced it was a bad omen."
Mrs Beasley added that Miss Glynn had been due to fly home on her own on Sunday morning but had switched to a later flight so that she could be with Mrs Beasley.
"I wanted to make sure I could help her with her luggage after some of it was stolen on the way out," she added.
Miss Glynn's parents Patricia and Andrew, who watched the final in Warsaw, flew home on a separate flight.
Mrs Glynn said: "Eleanor had a horrendous flight and we are relieved she is back home safely. She has had an exhausting time and she is catching up on some sleep."
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