They say lightning does not strike twice at the same place. When it did, it was an experience to remember for a lifetime...

All good things must come to an end, so was the short trip to Istanbul. Our guide Flihrit Yildrin waved to us for one last time before we made our way towards the Turkish Airlines counter at the Istanbul International Airport.

Considering the altercations one had with the travel agent before the start of the journey for wrongly spelling name on tickets and hotel stay, plus the shabby transportation arrangements, the trip to Turkey passed off rather peacefully.

If all those bumps to the run up to the trip were to be taken as sign of things to come, then even those with the highest sensitivity rating on premonition scale would have been surprised with the way things went so smoothly in the Mediterranean country.

It, therefore was time for self reassurance that things were fine and would be. As soon as we embarked on the flight, all the negative thoughts disappeared, oblivious to the fact that the way back was still over six hours away and anything could happen.

Seatbelts were tightened, shoes removed, pillow and blanket in place and preparation was complete to pass the next six and half hours in air.

The 20-year-old Airbus A300 was, however, unable to inspire confidence. Its creaky overhead cabin, seats that refuse to recline and almost non-functional airconditioning made one wonder if this was an international flight.

The stiff and cold Turk stewards and hostesses served the pasengers, as if somebody had gatecrashed into their party. They seemed to have forgotten they were in service industry and customers are king. Not surprising that the airlines was owned by their government.

Two and half hours into the flight, the Turkish airliner was in Iranian airspace. The aircraft began to behave strangely. It was shaking, ascending and decsending violently when the pilot made an unshecduled announcement.

Unfortunately for the 123 passengers onboard, that announcement was the last thing that they would have wanted to listen.

"Ladies and gentleman, please return to your respective seats and fasten your seatbelts as we are going to have an emergency landing at Tehran," one could hear the pilot's feeble voice. The noise of the overhead cabin made it difficult to hear him properly.

Expression of the fellow passenger sitting next said it all. Suddenly, the smile disappeared and anxiety writ large of her face. While some closed their eyes and murmured what they had belief in, others were desparate to find out what was the problem.

The shaking inside the aircraft, everytime it hit an airpocket, became more magnified and seemed to explain how an emergency landing was like. It was one of those moments, when a soul was made to realise what could be the difference between life and death.

But all credit to the pilot. He managed to safely take down aircraft without much problem at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran. The whistling and clapping of the passengers when the plane touched the tarmac said it all. They heaved a collective sigh of relief.

The lack of firefighters and emergency arrangements at the airport suggested the technical snag was perhaps not that serious.

Smiles on the face of the passengers said they were happy and felt good to be safe, obvlious to what was about to follow...

to be continued...