Passengers on Qantas flight QF1624 from Perth recount their ‘worst experience ever’ before landing in Geraldton

Shocked passengers on a flight from Perth to the Pilbara mining town of Paraburdoo told of their horror when they were told to get ready before their plane descended rapidly on Monday afternoon.

Qantas flight QF1624 managed to reach Geraldton safely and while passengers praised the crew, they criticized the airline’s handling of the horrific mid-air scare.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Shocked passengers recall the horror of being told to get ready.

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A problem with the Fokker 100’s automatic flight system, which occurred 20 minutes into the flight, is currently under investigation.

Sinead Campion was flying with her 11-year-old daughter and was so worried she called her husband to say goodbye.

“When they said, ‘Prepare for an emergency landing,’ there was a lot more noise in the plane,” Campion told 7NEWS.

“Everyone was talking somehow. A small child would say, “I’m scared,” and an adult would say, “I’m scared, too, buddy.”

Campion said she “feels like we’re dipping and rising.”

Another passenger, David Townsend, said: “The plane went up and down and then left and right.”

“We were told to take a stretch position, we were going to make an emergency landing.”

Passengers were warned that the landing would not be smooth.

“We were told to expect one big impact followed by several others,” passenger Simon Rushton said.

“The worst thing”

Flight path data showed that the plane descended rapidly, at more than two kilometers per minute, until it landed.

“(It was) the scariest thing I’ve ever been through,” Rushton said.

Passengers called the pilot “brilliant” and the ground staff “amazing” but said there was “no communication at all from Qantas”.

The airline claims it was not an emergency but has apologized and is now contacting all customers.

“We understand this would be a distressing experience for our customers and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding,” Qantas said.