Mills said the “bumpy” first attempt to land, on flight NZ417 about midday, was aborted as they started getting close to the ground.
“There was a few people gasping and making remarks,” he said.
Some people were saying “oh” or “oh my gosh”, while others, “who must be pretty confident flyers” were laughing.
“I just had my hat on and my head down just hoping I would get home,” he said.
The plane flew around for about 10 minutes before attempting another landing – successfully this time.
He said the passengers “erupted” upon landing, and many shook the pilot’s hand as they got off the plane.
Mills is no stranger to flying into Wellington in bad weather, but “this one was one of the worst”.
What made the flight particularly unsettling was the way the plane felt as if it was being shunted sideways in the air.
Mills said it was common to feel the plane move up and down abruptly in turbulence, but the sideways movements felt “unnatural”.
“It was more sideways than up and down, like left and right, which is a little bit scary.”
He was surprised to discover it “wasn’t even that windy on the ground” after disembarking.
The flight came into Wellington after a strong wind watch for the capital was lifted by MetService.
The forecaster earlier said there was a chance of severe gales developing, but by mid-morning the notices were lifted, as well as heavy rain watches for other parts of the South Island and lower North Island.
Poor weather continues to hit other parts of the country, with heavy downpours causing widespread flooding in Nelson and Westport.
A front from the Tasman Sea is moving up New Zealand, sweeping rain and gusts with it as well as a risk of thunderstorms for western parts of the North Island.
“Although the risk of thunderstorms is low, the risk of localised downpours occurring in this area is considered moderate. If they occur, downpours would likely produce rainfall rates of 25 to 40mm/h,” MetService said.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
