“We then hit a brick wall. I hit my head on the ceiling even though I was strapped in firmly. The airplane shook violently, so much so that the instrument panel became a blur….I could see that we were climbing at 6,000′ per minute. I called Air Traffic Control and said “We are unable to maintain altitude, do you see anything in radar in front of us”. “Yes, you are penetrating a level 4 area of weather, it’s about 15 miles wide and 60 miles long. You are cleared to deviate as required, there are no other aircraft in your area”. Of course there weren’t other aircraft, nobody else was dumb enough to be around a thunderstorm. I could hear screams in the back…”
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