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Sketchy Flight Experiences...

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H8CH
Posts: 2709 - Karma: 218

Ok so who’s got a sketchy flight experience to share??

Last night, I flew back to Houston from Phoenix, and the flight was already delayed due to weather (Tropical Storm Hermine was making landfall to the south…. So yeah, flying into the outer bands of a tropical storm.. nice)…. 

Anyway, got away eventually and flight was pretty bumpy approaching Houston, then…  coming in for the descent it started to get really lairy…  A Huge line of Thunderstorms and big cells was approaching the Airport from the SE… for some reason, we were vectored around to the East side for final approach.. it wasn’t too bad, until we got around to make the final approach in the middle of a pretty big squall / storm cell…  the plane was being tossed left to right, up and down …   couldn’t see a thing, but I knew we weren’t too high, so I was a bit nervous about micro bursts (big downdrafts of wind from TStorms)  - now just to note, im not a nervous flyer – one of my best friends is an Airbus pilot and between that and being an engineer, I have a pretty good understanding of what’s going on on modern jet’s… this being a little 737….  But, when everyone around is starting to freak out…  it does get a little sketchy!

So I’d heard the unmistakable beeping from the cockpit of the Autopilot being switched off, which means they’re going to have to fly / fight this fucker in…  and so at full flaps, gear down, speed lowish…  we are being tossed about like a cork in a bathtub..  when all of a sudden we emerge and we are well high above the runway and off line, so you hear the engines spool up, flaps come back and we fuck off for a go-around (first time I’ve experienced this in a long time of flying!)… do a 180 and start heading back to the shit show weather (Lightning, rain, squalls…)…  flaps back down then speed lowered, people really starting to freak out now… when we turn to the left, and properly gun it away to the north, flaps up…  they’d basically closed the runway to the east and we now had to come in from the West before the storms hit the airport… now remember this is Houston’s international airport and there are planes everywhere, 4 runways active… loads of air traffic issues….  So we stay at literally 1-2000 ft and fly this big ass loop around…   come in from the west and by now storms were literally about to close the airport.  That approach was also super sketchy, but they managed to squeeze us down amidst lightning strikes and all sorts of shit – which im not afraid to admit, I was fairly relieved about….  

Sparknotes: on a plane trying to land in the outer edges of tropical storm hermine...   pretty sketchy shit.

So – what dodgy flights have you had? Ever had anything go wrong? Had to make emergency landings? Bad turbulence….  Basically have you ever shit yourself on a flight before (not talking food poisoning either..)?

Sep 7 2010 9:44AM
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B4NE1
Posts: 876 - Karma: 16

737's aren't that little. dash 8's are little. But in all seriuosness flying into storms is pretty scary my dad flies for westjet up here in canada its a very similar airline to southwest. He flew into St. Johns newfoundland the other day while Hurricane Earl was causing trouble and at last second before landing about 100 feet off the ground they had major wind shear and had to go around.

Sep 7 2010 9:55AM
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Algebra
Posts: 5215 - Karma: 1,677
mile high club. nuff said
Sep 7 2010 9:59AM
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B4NE1
Posts: 876 - Karma: 16

Sorry to be a double post debbie but last year i flew from Calgary to Edmonton and i had to sit next to two nuns who started praying when we hit some decent turbulence nothing huge but to a person that doesn't know alot about aircraft they were in a nightmare. I started laughing while they kept praying and after the flight they gave me really mean looks.

Sep 7 2010 9:59AM
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H8CH
Posts: 2709 - Karma: 218

Yeah i hear you.... Dash 8's are tiny - anything with a prop! ha.

That's nuts...  that's def shit yo pants stuff...  wind shear and ice has to be a planes 2 worst enemies...

Sep 7 2010 10:00AM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
I flew from Belize to Ambergris Caye right after a hurricane had come through. We were on this 10 person prop plane and the cross winds were ridiculous. My (soon to be) father in law told me not to worry because all of these puddle jumper pilots used to fly for Pablo and they're really good. They can fly anything in to and out of anything.

So we're descending towards the runway to land and the body of the plane was literally perpendicular to the runway until we were about 15 feet off of the ground. At the very last second, the pilot straightens the plane out and sets us down straight and as gently as one could imagine. I was impressed.
Sep 7 2010 10:15AM
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adamlukowski
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 311
Happened to my friend. 2 middle easterners sitting next to him, a black family walks on, the fat black mother says "nu-uh, not today" and turns around and walks off
Sep 7 2010 10:18AM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9217 - Karma: 5,399
When I was going to the bahamas, the pilot approached the runway from the opposite side. So he made a diving 180 degree turn in a15 person propeller plane and proceeded to land. It was scary.
Sep 7 2010 10:28AM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
I was on a plane that hit a pocket of air and dropped somewhere between 1000-1500 feet. full weightlessness for a few seconds. some woman spontaneously vomited. i too have flown quite a bit, and that still terrified me.
Sep 7 2010 10:28AM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
only dualing banjo crying babies. its all been reasonable smooth, knock on wood.
Sep 7 2010 10:29AM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
also skiminnesota better post in here with some crazy stories, his dads a northwest? (i think) pilot
Sep 7 2010 10:30AM
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H8CH
Posts: 2709 - Karma: 218

that would shit me up.... 

always here stories of this happening and some punter in aisle or who doesn't have a seatbelt on, just get's mangled into the roof... would be funny if it wasn't terrifying! ha

Sep 7 2010 10:30AM
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r0dubs
Posts: 1764 - Karma: 19
did the vomit float?
Sep 7 2010 10:30AM
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Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
That is fucked. Friendly advice though: could you paragraph next time, easier to read.
Sep 7 2010 10:31AM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
one of the flight attendants got tossed, but miraculously not too badly. luckily the beverage cart wasn't out, that could have done some serious damage.

and to whoever asked, yes the hurl floated. it was gross.
Sep 7 2010 10:32AM
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H8CH
Posts: 2709 - Karma: 218
Yeah my bad....  was on iphone.... even if you paragraph it, it posts as a fuck off huge block of text! sorry!
Sep 7 2010 10:35AM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
air pockets like that are the reason why i keep my seat belt on even when the light is off.
Sep 7 2010 10:36AM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
same here. but even with a seatbelt, i still legitimately thought i was about to die haha. i look back now and laugh, but at the time i was not amused in the slightest.
Sep 7 2010 10:38AM
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H8CH
Posts: 2709 - Karma: 218

I bet there were some people on board though who properly bricked it - i mean, almost need medical help due to hyper ventilating and panic attacks etc?!

Sep 7 2010 10:39AM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
in those instances, having a window seat looking at the wings can be disconcerting. watching them flex and wondering how much more they can take.
Sep 7 2010 10:41AM
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Jakx~
Posts: 653 - Karma: 503

Well the landing going into honduras is sketchy cause you have to fly over a mt range then drop into a valley. here's a link to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_z5HtME9n8.

And then also i was in a small prop plane and feeling sick during the flight but pushed it out for the sake of my friends, then on the landing we were banking in for the run way and it turbulance and i spewed.

Sep 7 2010 10:51AM
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poptarts4life
Posts: 376 - Karma: 12

When going to colorado for some good old skiing my plane nearly had a mid air collision with another plane.  I looked out the window and saw another commercial plane and ours dove down and they went up.  Our plane shook from the other plane passing.  Other plande couldn't have been more than 100-200 feet away since i could easily see people in the other planes windows.

Sep 7 2010 10:54AM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9217 - Karma: 5,399
oh yeah i forgot about those. a plane I was in almost rotated 90 degrees after the eft wing hit a pocket, so it spun right. That was really weird. The plane righted itself immediately though.
Sep 7 2010 10:59AM
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KRASHED
Posts: 7803 - Karma: 466
Mine has nothing to do with the plane flight itself just a person on it.

On the way from Toronto to Heathrow (U.K) on a 7 and a half hour flight. Nice flight, half way in it's like everyone decides to take a mutual nap/quiet break.

The whole plain is dead silent and then suddenly this chick starting screaming. Worst god damn scream i've heard outside of a horror movie. The whole plain starts to panic until it was announced she just had a bad nightmare.
Sep 7 2010 11:07AM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
ive really got nothing, although last time i flew i was on a DC9 (biggest POS in the sky) and i swear the pilot thought he was in an F22 or somehting. he was just giv,ner take off and just cranks up to the north and goes.

ive been in some A320's though flying with a seat on the window and the wings start to flex a shit ton in the storm. thats disheartening to say the least. (its more a mental game than anything theyre designed to flex instead of break)

there isnt to much that gets me shaken up about flying, and this stuff happens more than alot of people think, just about a month ago coming out of Charlotte NC my dads plane started to lose cabin pressure so they descended below 10K ft and played dodgeball with the mtns while they burnt off some fuel.
Sep 7 2010 11:11AM
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DERS.
Posts: 6299 - Karma: 1,293
beachcraft 1900d flying into telluride (pretty much enough said there but) during a snow storm with winds well above the 15knots limit. stalled out on approach but quickly regained proper lift force. were bouncing around like crazy. came in for the approach maybe two or three times, idk if you have seen the telluride approach but its extremely difficult and nerve racking for a novice flyer. i was like 12 so me and my sister were enjoying it because it felt like a fuckin roller coaster. eventually we were diverted to cortez. and some lady had to be ambulanced away immediately after we landed. it was pretty sketchy but i enjoyed it at the time
Sep 7 2010 11:12AM
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followCam
Posts: 1907 - Karma: 446
I have 2 actually.
First one was when i was in Nairobi, Kenya flying out to the coast of East Africa....in a 14 seater plane.(pics or it didnt happen)Click for larger image

So we take off and hit the first bit of turbulence which in a plane that size is absolutely terrifying, pretty much thought i was going to die. In the end i accepted the fact that if it was going to down then theres nothing i could do about it. Also it was slightly reassuring that the pilot put it on auto pilot and was playing fifa on a psp.

Second one:
Flying from Glasgow Airport to Sharm El Sheik, Egypt.
We were descending to land when there was the biggest hit of turbulence I have ever felt and a huuuuuge drop. Everyone was weightless for a second or two, people screamed, children and even adults cried, the whole shabang. So the pilot obviously pulls up and circles round waiting for a gap in aircraft to land again.
That point was the most nerve wracking, just circling the ocean for about 15 minutes, with no announcement from the air hostess' about what was going on.
Sep 7 2010 11:24AM
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Jwalk
Posts: 4647 - Karma: 134
I've been above the clouds during a lightning storm. It was extremely cool. Kinda scary.

Another time I was flying from cincinatti to seatle but around halfway we had an oil leak and had to make an alternate route and land in SLC. Not that bad but still kind of sketchy
Sep 7 2010 11:38AM
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Davy.Crockett
Posts: 5373 - Karma: 324
one time i was flying to chicago and the copilot came out to my row and started shining a light under the floorboards. we asked what was wrong and he said that the landing gear had possibly gone out and they weren't sure if it was up or down. we had to make an emergency landing in montana but first we had to flyover the the control tower a few times to see if the gear was down. it was dark and they couldn't tell, so we just ended up going in. luckily the gear was down.

SKETCH
Sep 7 2010 11:53AM
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vandersteeze
Posts: 2650 - Karma: 1,511
Not my story but I read somewhere a guy on Zimbabwe airlines saw the pilot of the plane get out of the cockpit to go to the bathroom and the door locked behind him (no co pilot or something?) and he proceeds to bash down the door with an axe or something of the like ahah
Sep 7 2010 11:54AM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
bullshit.

i have flown a lot and the only shitty experience i've had, besides sitting on a runway for 4 hours, was hitting a pocket immediately after being handed my coffee. the plane dropped for maybe half a second or so but it was like i watched the coffee come straight up out of my cup and i tried to catch it all as it fell into my lap.

for some reason i never feel scared in sketchy puddle jumper situations. its almost like i just assume id be ok in a crash so little planes don't bother me. plus i find really really good pilots to be kind of cool and impressive. we had this french canadian pilot going on a fishing trip and on the first pass in broken english he was like "i must go back and try again, we would have never cleared the trees at that speed with this much beer on the plane"
Sep 7 2010 11:59AM
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SmokeyTheBear
Posts: 492 - Karma: 24
The sketchiest ones are when you're actually flying the plane.

I was doing a short field take off and accidentally pulled out of ground effect too soon, almost stalled. That was scary as fuck as it was in a crosswind so we could've spun back into the runway.

That and my instructor will randomly kill the engine and make me go through emergency procedures over rural minnesota
Sep 7 2010 12:04PM
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EvanA02
Posts: 421 - Karma: 47
My dad is a pilot for delta, flies the Boeing 767-(800) and tells me all the time about when they get hit my lightning people freak out. Same with birds, they hit those pretty often and they can ruin the fan blades which are extremely expensive around 15k for 1

besides that not too much, had a person die on his plane due to a peanut reaction and had to divert

for me though the worst was on my flight to Guatemala, when the flight attendants didn't speak Spanish (big mix up at the airport, needed a crew so called the ones on call) that was a hassle and people were panicked for no reason
Sep 7 2010 12:11PM
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pomme-de-terre
Posts: 3915 - Karma: 703
in a cessna 182 coming in to rochester. we had JUST touched down when a private jet pilot pulled out into the runway (when he wasnt supposed to) the tower told us to abort the landing and fly over him, guy i was with firewalled the throttle and pulled up hard as fuck, i honestly didnt think we were gonna clear the jet but we missed him by alot.


i also was sitting in a terminal waiting for my flight and i saw some smaller jet (a130?) sitting outside the teerminal, one of the engines was just fucking blazing on fire. the engine shut down and then pour shittons of black out of every orifice. they sprayed it with fire trucks and then towed it away.
Sep 7 2010 12:18PM
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SmokeyTheBear
Posts: 492 - Karma: 24
Lucky thing you were in a 182, those things can get airborne in a hurry. I probably would've shat myself haha
Sep 7 2010 12:36PM
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dmc12380
Posts: 3545 - Karma: 792


Was flying into Philly from Montana last year. As we approached the city we ended up flying around it 3-4 times without anyone coming on the intercom and letting us know what was going on. Finally the pilot speaks and tells us the flaps are broken, they usually go down to 45 degrees, but ours were stuck at 25 degrees. He tells everyone not to worry and says that all air traffic will be diverted when we go in for landing.
As we are coming in for the landing, you can look out the window and just tell we are going to damn fast, way faster than a normal landing. I was pretty nervous but not as bad as most of the people on the flight, because i was with my dad at the time who informed me that commercial pilots do actually train for these types of malfunctions, like they actually have all flown and landed planes in this type of situation before.
Anyways, as we are coming in you could see all the fire trucks and rescue vehicles ready for disaster, and as soon as we touch down they come racing towards us, but luckily we had good pilots because we landed safely, but still the scariest part was how fast we were going it was crazy.
Sep 7 2010 3:19PM
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Owen.
Posts: 1134 - Karma: 13
I haven't had any really rough experiences yet but I've had some really bumpy and long flights... I used to be scared of flying but now I just accept the fact that it's out of my control once I'm in the air and that planes are designed to take a lot more shit than most storms can throw at them. I saw a show on Discovery a while back that was about planes and how the wings have to go through ridiculous stress tests so that helps
Sep 7 2010 3:21PM
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annex_
Posts: 1659 - Karma: 1,499
that's about it for me.
Sep 7 2010 3:23PM
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BMskier
Posts: 3363 - Karma: 365
i was on a plane once over the atlantic and this women stabbed the man next to her repeatadly with a plastic fork haha
Sep 7 2010 3:29PM
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J-Evs
Posts: 6387 - Karma: 1,615
i get super paranoid on planes ahha.
idk why cuz i fly multiple times a year, but other than some major turbelence nothing really that scary, other than once we were getting ready to take off in a big jet and the engine was blasting and then the pilot just cut out and was like "ya one of our (some random part in wing) is broken we are gunna need to check it out" and i had a window seat so i sw the whole inspection and was a little nervous about takeoff again, but it went fine.
Sep 7 2010 3:55PM
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the_moderaper
Posts: 2465 - Karma: 218
Just after 9/11 I was roughly 10 and had to sit in a seat separate from my parents and I was with two middle easterners. I was freaking out when one went to the bathroom.

I'm not too bad with planes tho. I've been flying all my life since I fly for free. My father used to work for USAir. Planes actually undergo ridiculous tests but probably half of the work done on all commercial planes is performed by highly trained, absolutely awful workers who mess things up constantly and take shortcuts all the time. I hear about it all the time.

/Story My father was working in his hangar probably 5 years ago when a plane landed and veered off the runway into the wall of the hangar. I guess everyone was okay aside from ear damage to the workers and some burns. There was a massive fireball in the hangar once it impacted
Sep 7 2010 3:56PM
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J-Evs
Posts: 6387 - Karma: 1,615
thats encouraging
Sep 7 2010 3:59PM
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Mr.Turtle
Posts: 3690 - Karma: 96
flying on a small plane from florence to paris when we were landing both engines shut down for almost 20 secs. was straight terrifying
Sep 7 2010 3:59PM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
yea GF just flew into hali and said it was interesting
Sep 7 2010 4:48PM
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_MNice_
Posts: 558 - Karma: 52

I was in Tanzania flying from the west coast to the eastern border. There was alot of black grass which we were flying above, creating a massive up draft. We were bouncin around alot and movin from side to side, definitely the scariest flight i have ever been on, and it was a very small plane, about 40 passengers. It was also extremely windy so on the landing, we had to come in crooked onto a dirt runway, it sucked.

My dad's friend told me this one. He was flying into Grand Cayman and when he landed, a gust of wind picked up one side of the plane and one of the wings was scraping on the ground. Pretty intense

Sep 7 2010 5:00PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
beats the DC10 haha. at least the engines stay attached.

whos still flying dc9's?
Sep 7 2010 5:12PM
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H8CH
Posts: 2709 - Karma: 218

My buddy who flies A320's always says the "DC" stands for "Death Cruiser"...

All tri-stars are pieces of sh*t....  

Sep 7 2010 5:27PM
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canterbury
Posts: 2382 - Karma: 55
please tell me that your instructor only practices simulated engine out procedures with you and doesn't actually kill the engine needlessly inflight over a populated area...
Sep 7 2010 5:37PM
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Sir.Steezealot
Posts: 1156 - Karma: 677
My sister was on the terrorist watch list cool story bro right
Sep 7 2010 5:38PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
double post....when I was really young (probably around 10ish) I was flying with my old man as he was getting one of his pilots licenses in a small lil Cessna. One of the tests that they had to do was a stall type of a test.

Basically, we climbed to a certain altitude and he had to shut the engine off and nose dive the plane to jump start it. So here I am at xxxx feet and the engine shuts off on this tiny little plane. We start to dive. I become weightless for a few seconds as my stomach heads towards my nostrils. Engine starts back up and we pull out of it. Best roller coaster ride ever!
Sep 7 2010 5:42PM
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