The search continues for missing AirAsia flight 8501 in what has become the deadliest air travel year in a decade. Meanwhile, panic on another airliner ended in safely today. INSIDE EDITION reports.
It was a terrifying scene on board a jetliner bound for Las Vegas as passengers braced for an emergency landing.
The passengers were told by the crews, "Stay in the brace position until the aircraft stops completely."
The Virgin Atlantic jet turned back to London with problems with its landing gear, and news of the harrowing drama was broadcast live.
After several nail-biting minutes for the 450 passengers on board, the stricken plane landed safely.
The situation unfolded as the world reels from yet another mid-air disaster: the AirAsia jetliner that mysteriously vanished on a flight from Indonesia to Singapore.
The disaster brings the total number of airline passengers killed in 2014 to 1,212, the deadliest year in a decade.
First, we had Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, still missing, in the greatest mystery in aviation history.
Then, another Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine.
Travel expert Peter Greenberg told INSIDE EDITION the latest disaster over the Java Sea is more proof that the technology used to track airliners is outdated and has to be upgraded.
"It's live streaming of voice and data from the cockpit to the satellite 24/7 that gives you everything in real time, instantaneously, and would help investigators not only pinpoint what went wrong, but would pinpoint the location of the downed aircraft," said Greenberg.
Hear More From Greenberg
The AirAsia flight's pilot requested permission to in increase altitude to avoid a storm. Permission was denied because of other planes nearby.
Minutes later, the plane vanished.
There were heartbreaking scenes at the airport in Singapore where relatives waited for news of loved ones. A flight attendant, Khairunisa Fauzi, is among those lost.
The missing Airbus is similar to the one that was landed safely in the Hudson River in 2009 by hero pilot Sully Sullenberger. He says the disaster is a wake up call for the whole industry.
Sullenberger told INSIDE EDITION, "We must give pilots the best tools we can to allow them to handle whatever may come."
