Your Scariest Flying Experiences

[grinningghost]

I am not a frequent flyer, but I don't have any real fears of flying either. No real scary experiences, but I didn't much like it when the lights in the cabin started to flicker on and off.

Have you had any scary flying moments you would like to share?

 

[Microcell]

I am not going to be looking at this thread (see counter) again! I have never really had bad flights! I am just ascaered of flying!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Was on a flight over the Rockies when I was about 14 years old. The plane took a sudden dip, and all the lights went off, oxygen masks dropped, and I thought for sure we'd go down.

 

[monkeyboy]

I was on a flight to Italy once...I should have known something was wrong when I saw the pilot was Dean Martin

 

[chesirekate]

We were flying from San Francisco to Lansing one December. We had a layover in Minneapolis. Well, there was an ice/snow storm in Minn, so they had to keep deicing the plane prior to takeoff. It seemed we would just about be ready to go, when the pilot would get on the speaker and tell us we needed to deice again. Getting off the ground that day was very scary. I kept thinking about some important part freezing up on us and the plane plummeting into a frozen lake. We had to land in Grand Rapids and take a bus back to Lansing because the weather was so bad. It was awful!

 

[2BOYMOM]

Probably landing in New Orleans during the middle of a very bad storm. Lights going off and on in the plane, very scary!

 

[VampHeartless]

Was on a flight over the Rockies when I was about 14 years old. The plane took a sudden dip, and all the lights went off, oxygen masks dropped, and I thought for sure we'd go down.

Ooooh! The rockies is horrible to fly over! Worst wind shear ever!!

My brother actually hit his head on the top of the plane once during one of those "dips".

 

[aprincessmom]

I don't know how scary it is but it's certainly funny...

I used to fly frequently for work and was on a flight home from Chicago sitting next to two elderly women. We had severe turbulence and there was lots of bumping and strange noises happening. Then there was this loud CRACK and then some smaller crackling. The women sitting next to me, who had been on edge for the entire time, looked extremely frightened. I knew enough to know that we had been struck by lightning but were okay. The pilot got on the intercom and said "Folks, we in the middle of a storm and just experienced a little external electrical event but we should be just fine". The two women next to me breathed a big sigh and looked visibily relieved. One turned to me and said "Thank goodnesss...for a minute there I thought we had been hit by lightning." And she was serious!

 

[jrydberg]

Once flew in a DC-3 (the commercial version of the old WWII cargo plane). I swear it was like the guy was learning to drive a stick. Anyway, it can't be a good sign when a plane you flew in is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

 

[coliebird]

Flying home from Disney a few years ago on US Scare (US Air) when we lost an engine and had to emergency land. Luckily we were near an airport (I think in one of the Carolina's - I don't really remember) so the pilot was able to land the plane safely and we had an airport to hang out in until they got us another plane. The scariest part was that we were sitting by the wing and saw the flames shooting out - it was frightening.

 

[chimera]

Continental flight from Ft. Myers to Newark about 15 years ago. We got to Jacksonville when the pilot came over the intercom and told us we were turning around to land in Orlando. Ok...so we head back to Orlando and as we're approaching, he comes onto tell us we'll be landing on a special runway and if we see emergency vehicles, not to be alarmed. We landed on some back alley runway with a convoy of fire trucks and ambulances.

They told us later that there was a problem with the hydraulics that was noted during the flight.

 

[PoohnPglet]

I have one where I really thought we were gonna be toast.

We were coming in for a landing at DIA (Denver). We had started our decent fairly normally, but all of a sudden we we heading nose down. I am not exaggerating. One of the flight attendants that had been walking down the aisle towards the front, flew through the air and smacked into the back of one the seats. It seemed like that was it when the pilot not only pulls level but pulls it almost straight up! People were screaming and some threw up! Finally the plane levels out and pilot comes on the intercom and says, very smoothly, "Folks, that runway just isn't working for me today. I think I am gonna try another." Lots of nervous laughter at that. Changed landing course and we were fine.

I was flying a lot for my job at the time, so I had to "get back in the saddle" really fast. Otherwise, I might never have flown again!

 

[crcormier]

Worst I ever had was in the fall of 1996. I had flown down to Tampa to spend a few days with my uncle and to go over to Disney for an audition. The day I was flying home, the north east coast was being hit with an early Nor'easter, though it was too warm for snow.

I was flying from Tampa to Newark, then on to CT. We tried landing twice in Newark, but the weather was just too bad. We were getting tossed left and right, and dropping in ten to hundred feet dips. After two attempts the pilot had to divert to Philadelphia because we didn't have enough fuel to keep circling for another attempt.

Once in Philadelphia we sat in the plane for an hour or so and finally the pilot managed to get us a gate so we could get off, waiting for the weather to improve. We were told that we were going to head back to Newark as soon as we could, so if anyone didn't come back on the flight the airline wouldn't be responsible for their expenses to get themselves home or to get another flight.

About an hour later we got back on the plane and headed back in the air. About half the plane (no exaggeration) did not return. We headed back to Newark, and the pilot managed to earn his $120k/year on that landing, in my opinion. It was the most terrifying flight I've ever experienced, I honestly felt like there was a good chance we would crash during it. Those of us who were left cheered.

Oh, and then I got to take a puddle jumper from Newark to Hartford, which wasn't quite as bad as the weather had broken a little bit. But I got to Hartford around 10PM and my mom was supposed to pick me up, but it was snowing and she didn't want to drive the 2 hours in the snow to get me. (And I didn't blame her.) So after all that, I ended up spending the night in the airport as well.

I'm not AFRAID of flying, but turbulance puts me on edge a lot more than it used to. It wasn't until having to endure a 20 hour flight to and from Hong Kong last year that I've started to not be bothered by it as much anymore.

 

[caitycaity]

1) had to make an emergency landing at an abandoned airfield

2) pilot tried to land in like 0 visability one morning at chicago o'hare. we touched down and immediately shot up into the sky again really fast. no one knew what was going on. we ended up having to land in cincinnati instead because the visability never cleared and we were running out of fuel. as we were waiting for them to get us back on our plane at cincinnati - they made an announcement that the windshield temperature sensor had malfunctioned and the planes windshield had melted.

3)we were in a storm with a lot of turbulence and our plane got hit by lightning. it wasn't really the lightning strike itself that was scary, but just the idea of it.

 

[HappyMommy2]

We were flying out of Dallas and just as we were boarding, a huge thunderstorm hit and the rain started pouring and thunder crashing. We sat there for a while, then started moving toward the runway, then stopped again, all the while the captain updating us that we were leaving, weren't leaving, leaving, etc. Finally, just as the storm seemed to be at its worst, we took off. The turbulance was just horrible as we ascended. It really felt like a rollercoaster and the cabin lights were flickering. Very scary. The worst moment was when there was a deafening sound of things hitting the plane, just for a couple of seconds--hail! People started really gasping and yelling at that point! There was a pilot sitting right across from me and he said, "Don't worry everybody...just a little ice, we'll be fine!" We were all SO glad when we passed beyond the storm. The captain came on and apologized for the "bit of a rough takeoff."

 

[PoohnPglet]

I'm not AFRAID of flying, but turbulance puts me on edge a lot more than it used to. It wasn't until having to endure a 20 hour flight to and from Hong Kong last year that I've started to not be bothered by it as much anymore.

Is that you there with Donald? You are a cutie! Oh, what I wouldn't give to be younger and thinner!

(Sorry OP, didn't mean to go OT.)

 

[caitycaity]

i don't know why i keep reading this thread since i have to fly this evening.

 

[dturner]

About 30 years ago (wow, am I that old??? I was 11-12 then and 42 now, WOW!) flying with my Mother from Orlando to Dallas (we just moved to Dallas from Orlando) ran into a bad thunderstorm over Dallas, had to circle for at least an hour on a small plane (3 seats on each side), finally flew to Shreveport to re-fuel (pilot said we were running out of fuel) and then had to come back through the thunderstorm AGAIN but was able to land.

That was very frightening, I remember the plane was shaking up and down, yuk!!!

 

[Phrebert]

We were flying to Boise to Denver and as we were landing the plane dipped to the left . So now every landing I make is not fun.

 

[tinatark]

We had a bad flight into Knoxville from Washington DC last spring.

We accepted a "bump" to take a later flight - it was fun there, we took the metro back into town and had fun!

When we got on our flight (puddle jumper plane)... everything was fine until we got closer into TYS - the flight attendant was just finishing her drink run when the pilot came on and advised us that we were in a bit of turbulence - and for us to "throw our trash on the floor" - as the attendants were buckled in for the rest of the flight. Whooo Hooo... we dipped, bumped and dove the rest of the way in! When we got to our airport, we learned that other flights scheduled to arrive at our airport had been diverted by the bad weather.

DH and I prayed through most of the turbulence, DS' enjoyed the roller coaster ride!!