GREAT FALLS - People on the ground aren't the only ones dealing with the howling winds across Montana on Friday -- airline pilots and passengers had a bit of a bumpy time in the Big Sky.
Some of the passengers at Great Falls International Airport were definitely feeling the shaking from the wind.
Josh Whitten, a Delta passenger, said, "We were flying in from Salt Lake City, starting in Sacramento today, and we knew it was going to be windy today. The pilot told us and they started the beverages a little early and then it was smooth for a little bit, then coming in, definitely started rocking and shaking pretty good. The landing was actually not too bad. The pilot did a great job, but I am pretty sure someone might have thrown up on the way in, smelled like it. I didn't see anything, but a definite possibility."
Amy Whitten, another Delta passenger, said, "I was shaking pretty good. Rocking back and forth and I was having to take some deep breaths for awhile, but the pilot really did a smooth landing, so it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Even when we were sitting on the tarmac, the plane was really rocking, you could feel it moving quite a bit."
Mark Haakenson, a chief pilot said, "The process of a pilot when he's landing is to counteract that by steering into the wind, usually by changing the direction of the aircraft, so that you're actually flying into the wind, but the ground track is tracking straight down the runway."
Despite the strong wind, the pilots didn't have too much trouble making smooth landings.
The powerful winds -- with some gusts reported at about 90 miles per hour -- toppled some semi trucks and trailers; no serious injuries were reported.
Story and video: http://www.krtv.com
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