out than face the horrific failed landing.

"I never want to experience that again,'' Vernell Simons told The Royal Gazette yesterday. She was one of 145 passengers on a flight to Bermuda from the US on Sunday.

Ms Simons said she heard of high winds lashing the Island before even boarding the plane in Newark, New Jersey. The in-flight turbulence began about 30 minutes before the plane was scheduled to arrive.

But watching the once familiar surface of the Atlantic ocean below made the mid-air lurching even more unbearable.

"For miles you could see the water was sick,'' she said. "The water was stirred up. It was unreal. It wasn't like coming home.

"The water really looked unwell. I never want to see that again.

"We were thinking about swimming while sitting in that plane. The wind had us.'' "I'm never taking a window seat again,'' she added.

She estimated that roughly three quarters of the passengers -- and at least one crew member -- became physically ill as the plane fought against 55-knot gusts of wind.

"I got sick. I got really sick,'' she admitted. "And when I looked back, I saw everybody's ugly faces...all of them were sick.'' As the plane made its first attempt to land, she realised she was squeezing the hand of a breathless man sitting next to her.

"The first attempt wasn't as bad. (The pilot) acknowledged that it was difficult. The second one we were forced back. We were literally forced back,'' she said.

And she said the plane was so close to the ground it seemed it "should have touched the ground''.

Another passenger also recalled the aborted landing attempt.

"We came down and there was a big thump and then he said we were coming back again,'' the woman said. "It was terrible.'' And Ms Simons said even the pilot's huge, high speed U-turn to return to the US was a traumatic experience.

"That's what caused other people's sickness,'' she said. "I hope I never have to experience that again.'' She said she was "a little jittery'' when the plane finally arrived today, but praised the pilot's flying prowess.

"Thank God I'm back and all in one piece,'' she said. "I want to highly recommend the pilot.'' According to Continental general manager Steven Darrell, the plane returned to Newark on Sunday after three unsuccessful attempts to land in the high winds.

It was inbound at Bermuda at around 4.15 p.m. with 145 people on board when the hazardous cross winds made it necessary to abort the arrival.

The 737-800 aircraft had already replaced the smaller 727 on the route because of the poor weather, but wind gusts of up to 55 knots made it too dangerous to attempt a landing.

The aircraft returned to the United States and yesterday a larger plane, a 757 was sent with 172 people on board.

It touched down at around 4 p.m. as the weekend's strong winds started to weaken.