(WWJ) Through yesterday's tumultuous -- and some would say scary -- high winds pilots were able to get passengers safely on the ground in Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Steve Bean of Farmington Hills was heading back from vacation on a flight last night, and said it was a trip to remember.

He told WWJ Newsradio that pilots told them to expect the worst turbulence they've ever experienced, but they could handle it.

They were right.

Passengers sat in silence as the plane whipped its way through air, listing to one side, then the other. Then it would drop.

Silence continued as the pilots wrestled the craft through its choppy descent.

"We hit the ground, and as soon as we hit the ground, it was like instantaneous people started clapping. People were hooting and hollering. I've never been on a flight like that. And I tell you want, when we stopped the pilots stepped out and everyone gave them a standing ovation. It was just crazy."

Bean says he flies a couple times every year, and he's never experienced something like that.

