Passengers freak out after pilot's tornado take-off warning

A United Airlines pilot made the worst take-off announcement ever on Tuesday when he warned passengers that they would be flying through "horrific storms including tornadoes".

Passengers on the Chicago to Newark flight were left terrified after the flight had already experienced a two-hour delay.

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A flight attendant was forced to take to the speaker system to calm passengers after the announcement.

Passenger Pamela Kent, who was travelling with her daughter Jessica, told NJ.com: "He seemed angry. He said 'we're going to be flying through horrific storms including tornadoes."

According to Kent, the pilot also instructed flyers to "get to know your neighbours" on the overbooked flight and said the journey would be "very turbulent".

He allegedly then walked into the cockpit and closed the door.

United Airlines is looking into the incident and said: "We would never put our crew or our passengers in a situation where it was unsafe to fly. The safety of the passengers and the crew is always our No. 1 priority."