I thought we were going to die in 'crazy' turbulence that sent woman crashing into the ceiling: Passenger describes terror on jet as it dropped 8,000ft in minutes over Greenland

A passenger who was on a Miami-bound flight when it was hit by extreme turbulence said he thought he was going to die and has described how a man next to him was knocked out after being flung into the cabin ceiling.

Sammy Solstad, who is originally from Sweden but now lives in Florida , had been travelling on the flight home with his wife when the plane was buffeted by air currents over Greenland.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight SK957 dropped more than 8,000ft in just minutes as the turbulence hit, flight trackers show.

The flight from Stockholm, which was due to take nine hours, then made a U-turn and headed all the way back to Europe, a journey which took around five hours.

Mr Solstad shared a clip of the moment the jet suddenly 'plunged', with passengers seen gripping to their seats and heard screaming in terror while others are thrown upwards.

People's belongings are sent flying while a man and woman in his row are seen slamming into the ceiling, with the woman's feet visible at head height in the dramatic footage.

'I was asleep and my wife woke me up and said "it's really bumpy," and then things turned really bad really fast,' Mr Solstad told MailOnline.

'We thought we were going to die when it went straight down, and the people next to us went right into the ceiling. The woman was thrown upwards and hit the ceiling with her whole body, head first.'

He said the woman's husband, who had his seatbelt on loosely, was knocked unconscious.

The woman, who had not been wearing a seatbelt at all, 'hit her head and neck very hard,' and then fell to the ground.

'The staff did not get up from the chair to help the woman on the floor - it was a crazy situation and they were probably in shock,' he went on.

The plane continued to drop rapidly but Mr Solstad said he decided to run over to help the woman, who he said was 'bleeding a little,' lifting her up and strapping her into the seat.

Passengers posted pictures on social media of the cabin during the turbulence - with items such as plastic cups, paper bags and one man's rucksack strewn across the floor.

Shaken passengers begged for the plane to land at the nearest airport in Canada , Mr Solstad said, adding that they were just an hour from being over the US.

'Everyone on the plane is praying and asking to just land instead of flying over the open sea and for several hours because of a damaged plane and the woman with neck injuries,' he said.

However, the pilots were ordered to fly back to Denmark, he claimed, saying the reason was that it would be too expensive for SAS to send mechanics out to the US.

'Everyone was concerned, we didn't want to go back five hours on a compromised plane which the pilot said was damaged. I don't think he meant to tell us that because he didn't repeat it again.

He said while the turbulence abated, people were still terrified for the duration of the flight back to Europe. 'When you're scared for five hours it feels like five days,' he said.

'Everybody was crying and screaming, the smallest little bump everyone freaked out, there wasn't much turbulence but every little thing felt horrible.

'Lots of children were on the flight and older folks who could have easily had a heart attack.

'A lot of people said they are never going to fly again, they won't get back on a plane after that experience,' he added.

Mr Solstod said he met one of the pilots at the hotel where they were put up afterwards. 'The pilot said he had been flying his whole life and it was definitely the craziest thing he's ever experienced,' he said.

The traveller hit out at the airline saying: 'They care about the money before the people. The flight attendant said "no, we always put the people first", but then admitted that the plane might need to be held there for three weeks and they didn't want to be stuck there, which kind of confirmed what I said.'

The airliner told MailOnline that the jet had to turn around as it did not have the required equipment in Miami to perform the checks.

'Since SAS do not have the necessary facilities and staff for this level of inspection in Miami, we decided to reroute the aircraft to Copenhagen, where both hangar space and qualified technicians were available,' it said in a statement.

'Flying the aircraft to MIA would have resulted in it being grounded for an extended period, leading to multiple cancellations.'

According to Scandinavian Airlines, 254 passengers and one baby were on board the plane.

No serious injuries were reported among passengers or crew, they said, and the plane was met by a special assistance team when it landed.

The passengers and crew were given hotel rooms in Copenhagen and were booked onto other flights to Miami on Friday, according to the airline.

Back in September, a Scandinavian Airlines flight was forced to make a diversion after a rodent was discovered in a passenger's meal.

The aircraft, which was flying from Oslo to Malaga, Spain was forced to land in Copenhagen as a safety precaution after the mouse was found in an in-flight meal.

Rodents on board aircraft can pose a safety risk as they are able to chew through critical wiring. Airlines usually have procedures to prevent such an incident from occurring.