What Was Your Scariest Experience(s) While in a Aircraft?

[indykid]

"Flying's the second greatest thrill known to man."

"What's the first one?"

"Landing."

So true. The thing about flying, take off is optional, landing is mandatory.

 

[jsharmon7]

airbus landing in Oakland CA with 50 mph crosswinds.
Bricks were shat.

Same deal flying into Las Vegas one night. I've been on roller coasters that were calmer than that landing. The best part was the woman next to me who calmly asked if I would be needing my air sick bag. I handed it over and she proceeded to lose her lunch. I got a kick out of the whole experience, not like there was anything I could do about it at that point so I sat back and enjoyed the ride.

 

[RedneckReject]

All of my flying experiences are bad. I'm the crazy person on the plane that freaks out at even the slightest turbulence. I know it's a much faster way to travel long distances. I know I have a much higher chance of being in a car accident than a plane crash. I know it's actually a pretty safe way to travel. I still prefer to have my hooves on the ground.

 

[A10WEAPONSGUY]

pretty sure my F-16 incentive flight was pretty scary...and I only threw up twice haha! but it was an awesome experience!

 

[littletommy]

Flying into Montego Bay Jamaica, I was looking out the window, and could see the ocean getting closer and closer. I seriously thought we were going into the water, then, one of the smoothest landings I've ever encountered in a jet liner.

The lounge in the Montego Bay airport had a self serve bar, no kidding, you could get your own beer right out of the tap. I had just poured a nice frosty one when a Jamaican guy came in and told me my ride was there, and I looked sad and said, "I just poured this beer" He laughed and said "no problem mon, you're in Jamaica now, bring it with you"!

 

[gunworks321]

On a "routine" transit flight from Japan in P-3 Orion we had engine fire. Snuffed out with HRD fire suppression system. Fire re-lit, snuffed out with transferred HRD. Fire re-lit, Pilot in command had everyone don survival gear for water landing and proceeded to dive aircraft from 18,000 feet. Leveled at 1500 feet, fire out and made emergency landing in Iwo Jima. Crew of 28 had lots of puking and soiled clothes, but we had a week to clean up while waiting for engine change.

 

[armedindy]

swinging my legs out of the door at 16000 feet

 

[badwolf.usmc]

I wasn't in an aircraft, but the most "concerned" I've ever been around one was during a training exercise i was acting as the landing marker, with a nice small marking panel, for an Osprey and the guy calling the bird in lost radio contact with the bird. The pilots pulled out of the landing at the last minute and i was feeling quite a bit of down pressure from the rotors as she looked huge hovering over me.
The officers were yelling at the radio operator to get communication back and the door guys on the bird were trying to wave us away, which i found out later, but i couldn't see or hear anything because of the bird. My signal guy, who was back with the platoon, never gave me the word to come back because he wasn't ever told by the radio operator that final approach was confirmed.

With all that said, that was a fun day. Running through the marsh, loading up on Ospreys, flying to the coast and back, then off, to do it all over again.

 

[Doug]

Being ferried out to a fast attack submarine in the North Atlantic.
The chopper was low on gas and they couldn't hook the cable.
I had to pull the release and drop into the water...

Oh wait a minute...
No,that didn't happen.
Never mind.

 

[daddymikey1975]

1) We were flying into Detroit from Myrtle Beach on a commercial plane. When we got to Detroit, the pilot warned us that there was a bad cross wind so the landing might be rough. We came in crabbing at a 45 degree angle.. he sped up and waved off.. Came in again for another try, only accelerating towards the runway (still at what seemed like a 45 degree angle).. punched it again and waved off.. We flew a holding pattern for a while while they 'changed runways' down below so we could land with the wind behind us. The puddle jumper between Detroit and SBN didn't have any A/C either..

2) My wife and I were on a 757 from LAX on a non-stop to Chicago. I like listening to air traffic control with their little headphones.. I hear the pilot check in with what I think was St. Louis, or Peoria, IL or thereabouts... the part of the conversation that I remember is air traffic telling the pilot "they're switching runways in Chicago due to heavy cross winds. Fly around such and such intersection until further notice. Chicago is aware of your fuel situation"... I was not a happy camper. (the rest of the flight went without incident)

3) we were on a pencil jet from Chicago (after the 757 trip w/ a 'fuel situation').. I was listening to air traffic control (like I hadn't had enough of that already LOL ).. After we pushed back, the pilot was checking in, waiting for clearance. Once we got the ok to taxi onto the runway, air traffic told the pilot "you're clear for takeoff, make haste and don't delay, there is traffic coming in behind you. Also, beware of the heavy that just left in front of you. Could be some turbulence".. As he taxi'd around the corner, he didn't even stop for his pre-flight stuff, he just turned the corner, nailed it, and climbed.

We got to SBN after about a half hour and the pilot said it was a bit choppy and did a combat landing (or what seemed like it anyway).. he was really on the throttle when he landed on the runway, and was so hard on the blowers and brakes to stop, I thought he was gonna blow past our turn off for our gate. Once the plane stopped, the cockpit door opened and some decent looking woman came out. I said "was that you??".. she held the door open for an older guy and she said "I flew us here, but he landed".. I shook his hand and thanked him for the awesome job.

4) I was on a plane from Denver to Chicago with what seemed like a stupid rookie. We got our clear for takeoff, and if the engines were connected to the wheels, he would have burned rubber the whole length of the runway. It was almost like full throttle, and pulling straight up (thought he was flying the space shuttle).. the rest of the flight was boring until we were "beginning our final approach to the chicago area"... The lady sitting next to me was talking to me about how takeoff went. She said "at least we're over land instead of worrying about drowning in the ocean".. I reminded her that this guy could overshoot O'hare and put us in Lake Michigan.

Typically, from the previous flights I've been on, the pilot will throttle down a bit, raise the nose and kind of glide in. This guy, went throttle up, nose down, level off... nose down, level off.. like he was going down steps.. I got nervous and the woman next to me was white nuckle on the seats. Once this jerk finally had us on the ground, he taxi's over to the terminal. The passengers begin to unbuckle and stand up. The pilot gets on the intercom and reminds us that the seat belt sign is still lit and to remain seated until the door is opened.

After a few minutes (seemed like 15) we heard some banging under the plane. We began to move backwards, and kind of parallel park again. The seat belt light turns off and we're allowed to get off the plane. As I get into the terminal, my friend is laughing his bloody a$$ off. I ask what's so funny and he says "the guy with the flashlights on the ground, that tells the pilot where to go was directing the pilot to turn, move, or whatever and the pilot was shaking his head 'no'.. he finally came to a stop and the flashlight guy threw his lights and had to go get the tractor to move the plane to where it was supposed to go".. Funny crap right there.

 

[Tactical Dave]

My father went on a maintenance flight on a 727 back in the day and they tested the fuel dump (if the plane takes off and something comes up and they have to land fairly quickly they dump the fuel into the atmosphere and it comes out rather fast) and it was working normally but did not want to shut off. After that he stopes volunteering for maintenance flights.

I know some companies revoke your life insurance if you are killed on one of those flights if you voluntered.

I doubt out the hard way that the freight companies don't really maintain the air stairs on the 727's.... When they are maintained they will holy tr back of the plane up when down.... Thankfully I kept my hand on the handle and the guys inside just got a fun ride.


Have also been buzzed by an f-16 so low that I could probably have spit on it.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

Jumping out of it... sort of...
I wanted to go first. But I found out they save the lightest person for last. I was afraid if I didn't jump first (of all my buddies) I would chicken out.
Luckily I did not. It was awesome.

 

[CountryBoy19]

when i was in the Army and actually landing while in a C-130 or C-17.....i preferred to jump out of them instead

My first ever combat landing/take-off in a C130 in Afghanistan was quite the experience. Shouldn't have ate breakfast that morning and just lucky I had an empty plastic bag in my assault pack. If you've never experienced a C130 combat landing its somewhat like a roller coaster where your gut goes up to through throat then down to you legs repeatedly many, many times.

The thing that really did me in was the fact that I was getting off on stop 4 that morning so I had to go through 4 combat take-offs (not quite as bad) and 4 combat landings. I lost it on landing 3 and almost lost it again on landing 4.

It's also exciting crossing over the valley's/ridges of the rough mountainous terrain in A-stan. The turbulance shooting up the draws and over the ridges is crazy sometimes so you can get the roller coaster feeling during "straight" cruising flights too.

 

[Redtbird]

The scariest thing for me it that time between the take-off and the landing. I love the take-off roll and the deceleration on landing is cool.

But that 'stuff' in between... Naw! Not for me.

Haven't flown since 87.

 

[Bennettjh]

I puked in one...

 

[Fenway]

Commercial flight hit birds during take off and a couple went through one the jets and knocked it out. Smelled bad and we turned around right away and landed. Long day.

 

[Sgtusmc]

Flying on a CH-46 from ship to shore, the helo suddenly dropped and rotor spray was flying in the rear. Not sure if the pilot was trying to scare us or what. This wasn't too long after 13 Marines went down in a night ops crash at sea. I witnessed the helo flip upside down right after take off and break in half in the high seas. 1 Marine was thrown miraculously through the broken fuselage and was saved. The rest went 2 miles to the bottom or were eatin by sharks.

 

[possum_128]

Well one I can't talk about the worst but the 2nd worst one was over Turkey in a Huey and I am in the rear and I hear a loud buzzing and we start spinning and I hear from the front cockpit, we are going down! Sucked that seat right up my arse.

 

[remauto1187]

1997 Was in the hangar at Naval Air Station Cecil Field Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-37 working on a F/A18C Hornet with another Aviation Electrician and I climbed up the ladder to stick my head into the cockpit and stuck a piece of equipment into the dash and the other guy was sitting in the seat (C models are one seat Hornets). I looked down and realized this dipshi^ did not safety check the aircraft and forgot to make sure the safety pins were in the ejection seat yank and the canopy ejection yank wasnt either. Just as that little light went on in my head the idiot moves forward catching the ejection seat yank and took all the tension up on it and I immediately threw one hand into his chest and pushed him all the way into the seat. That boy thought I went nutso on him until I pointed out that he was about to kill us both by setting that ejection seat off.

 

[Cameramonkey]

The worst? The time I had the fish.

The second? Low time pilot with fresh High Performance endorsement. Took some freinds to fly 30 minutes to the DZ for our second skydives (550+ jumps ago). As I was in the pattern I KNOW I heard "Jumpers away" over the radio so like a dumbass I didnt delegate the watching for falling bodies. In doing so I ignored my checklist. Thank God for gear warning alarms... As I pulled the throttle back I heard the alarm and immediately but gently firewalled the throttle and did a go-around. I was 10 feet from bellying the aircraft in with the gear up... I damn sure followed my checklist the NEXT time around.

The DZO mentioned my go around and I mentioned the jumpers away... she was amused because nobody was in the air.

Probably the third would have been the time I nearly had a midair because I had the gall as a student to get in the way of a Bonanza (expensive, relatively fast plane). I was making all the right radio calls, in the exact spots I should have been like a good student. He was apparently attempting to do an unannounced, "improper" entry into the pattern where he felt like instead of where he should have and he had to take evasive maneuvers because he was about to hit me in my blind side. I had no idea what happened until he told me on the ground.

He actually had the nerve to chew me out on the tarmac afterward. ("do you have any idea how fast this plane is? how you could have killed us both?" etc) I replied "I was in the pattern making radio calls. I didnt hear yours?" When I told my instructor what happened he laughed and called the guy an ass.