SAN ANTONIO -- "You could feel yourself being tugged up like you were on a roller coaster ride," Lorenzo Hernandez Jr., a 30-year-old father of two.
"It did cross my mind," he said. "This could be my last flight."
He said as he was jerked around in his seat, he decided to look out the window. His fears were confirmed.
"It was ugly turbulence," he said of being on Southwest flight #987 Sunday. He said he saw a panel flapping above the clouds.
The flight was going from Austin to Harlingen when it was forced to land in San Antonio. One of the plane's wings appeared to have an 'irregular angle.'
None of the 114 passengers or crew members were hurt, but passengers said turbulence was strong. Hernandez said they were at least ten minutes into the flight, and though he didn't recall the altitude, he said he saw houses that looked like toys from his window.
Hernandez said he then started to think about his children when this happened.
He said he and all the other passengers boarded a different plane after a two-hour delay.
Herrnandez said while he's happy to be safe at home, he was still traumatized while boarding the second plane.
"The adrenaline was still pumping for us," he said. "I don't think I'll fly anytime soon," he added.
"It was nerve-wracking. Thank God for the pilot, he was good and the staff was calm," he said.
