Terrible flight turbulence compelled 2 strangers to bond. They survived the bumpy ride with whiskey and TikTok.

• Lila Smith went viral with a video showing her and her seatmate struggling with turbulence.
• The two tried to calm their nerves with whiskey and asked the attendant if they should be worried.

Two women became friends after bonding on a severely turbulent plane ride, recording their hilarious interactions and panicked antics in a video that's been viewed over 1.5 million times.

"My new friend/seatmate sabrina and i saw God on our United flight," Lila Smith, a 21-year-old actor and student from New York City, wrote in the clip description.

Smith told Insider she met Sabrina on a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Greenville, South Carolina, last Tuesday. She said the turbulence lasted for about an hour and was the "worst" she'd experienced.

She began chatting up Sabrina, who was seated next to her in the back row as the flight took off. An anxious flyer, Smith said she quickly realized Sabrina was "way more nervous."

Smith recorded them both sipping Jack Daniel's whiskey as the flight shuddered. She told Insider the "shot of liquid courage" helped calm their nerves.

From then on, Smith said she and Sabrina were "arm in arm, planning our escape if we went down."

"You can't swim?" Smith asked Sabrina at one point, referencing a potential crash scenario.

"No," Sabrina said. "I'm gonna get on somebody's back."

The two agreed that they would also lie and say they were pregnant to be let out first.

The video cut to a clip where Sabrina asked an off-screen flight attendant if she'd experienced turbulence this severe before.

"I've had this before. I've had worse before, honestly," the attendant replied, shocking the two women.

Sabrina then joked about starting a GoFundMe so people could fund her funeral in the event the plane went down.

Smith told Insider she didn't blame United for the bruising bumps and credited the "wonderful" attendants for offering support during her and Sabrina's flight anxiety.

"Seeing how calm and friendly they were made us feel better," she said. "The best service I've ever experienced on a flight!"

The video comments were packed with people praising the duo's comedy and saying they were surprised they weren't longtime friends. "I would watch this sitcom," one top comment said.

"This is totally back row energy," another person wrote.

One commenter who identified as a United airplane attendant wrote that the "East Coast turbulence" was "ridiculous" the night of that flight.

Smith told Insider she didn't get Sabrina's contact information afterward because she believes "we are in each other's paths at certain times and places" for a reason and felt like they were connected on that flight. She called Sabrina "hilarious" and said her presence was a comfort.

She said she told Sabrina she was making a TikTok about their experience, but she wasn't sure if she'd seen the clip.

"Sabrina and I were like, 'If we're going down on this flight, we're going down together.'" Smith said. "Now, I hope she's having fun with her family — although maybe we will see each other in the back row on the way home!"