How many have been on a flight that scared the bejeebus out of you?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

I was on one where we were getting the side to side action as we were landing. It was pretty intense. Everyone looked pretty gray. I squeezed my husbands hand so hard without realizing and he didn't either. Usually flying is just like taking a bus, but the few times it isn't, you appreciate all the many smooth flights you took for granted.

AFTER we landed, I discovered that GALE WARNINGS were in force.

[leftyclimber]

1. First time I flew into Toronto.

The flight itself was extremely uneventful. Coming in for a landing, a crosswind hit the aircraft. I looked out the window and the wingtip was about 30 feet off the ground, and getting closer fast. The pilot straightened up so fast I think my stomach is still somewhere out there on the runway.

People were thanking the pilot for not killing us. It was really frickin' scary.

[rurallib]

2. 3 or 4

:scared: :scared: :scared:
The worst was on a landing in strong winds. We lifted back up and kind of turned 90 degrees with one wing tip nearly touching the ground.

[LadyoftheRabbits]

3. Every one I've ever been on

Unless I was heavily medicated. :P But in all seriousness, there was one I was on similar to that heading to Midway and one to Minneapolis where the plane was heaving and bucking. Flying into Midway, I thought we were about to land on a wing. :scared:

[Shell Beau]

9. I am not a fan of flying either.

I have gotten better. Much!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. I've never had a bad flying experience,

except for the time I was flying on a corporate jet and the landing gear stuck. We bellyflopped onto the foam. No big deal, really. Then I found out what the foam was really for - no, it's not to give the plane a softer landing.

My worst flying moment came when I missed my flight from Lima to Cuzco in Peru. Strangely enough, it was American politics that made me miss the flight.

I took the same flight the next day, although it had a different number.

Approaching Cuzco, which is nicely nestled high up in the Andes Mountains, I was able to look down and see the wreckage of the same flight that had crashed into a mountainside the day before. My seatmate pointed it out to me. I hadn't heard about it, wrapped up as I'd been with the American political situation which had caused me to miss that flight.

It wasn't a good feeling, looking down at that scene.

[likesmountains 52]

5. Flying in to La Ceiba, Honduras one time..all of the local ladies were praying in Spanish..

the rest of us were mostly vomiting as the plane dropped and twisted. We made it but I still don't know how. Maybe it was all of those Spanish speaking ladies..

[pokerfan]

6. One engine failure on take-off

Company's twin-engine Cessna. I was in the front right-hand seat for added thrill.

[mainegreen]

7. Me

Plane dropped so fast, so hard people flew out of there seats and were plastered against the ceiling.

Then the plane rose all the way up, just as fast.

Scary. Death crossed my mind.

[Wapsie B]

8. I've experienced that flying into several airports.

But then the time I flew into Calgary I could not believe it. It was the smoothest flight from start to finish I've ever been on.

[SoxFan]

10. Cabin filled with smoke while taxiing

I was taking a space available "hop" on a C-130 from Little Rock AFB to Westover AFB. As we were preparing for takeoff, hydraulic fluid leaked on to some wiring and mayhem ensued. The crew chief made sure the two of us in the cargo hold jump seats got our butts out quickly.

About an hour later, they had moved the cargo palette and the two hitchhikers on to a new plane and we were on our way.

[VenusRising]

My husband and I were flying home after getting married.

We were mid-flight and we suddenly lost altitude. My stomach was up in my throat, and both my husband and I were wide eyed and white knuckling the seats. Everything turned out fine. I'm sure it was some kind of atmospheric anomaly, but it was scary as hell.

[nickgutierrez]

11. Nothing worse than really bad turbulence, thank goodness.

It's still terrifying, though, when the plane seems to drop five or ten feet, unexpectedly. There's just no way to not feel like your heart is up around your throat when that happens.

[Robeson]

12. I've been in bad whether, but the most intense was right after 9/11....

...Mrs Robeson and I had a vacation planned for Amsterdam months before 9/11. Then that event happened. We were on some of the first flights allowed out of the country. We first left Nashville to Indianapolis, and were the ONLY people on the flight. The crew went through their safety drill just for us, and told us we could sit anywhere we wanted. It was surreal.

When we got to Detroit, we were put on a flight with Dutch nationals who had been waiting all week to get out. The whole flight was strange. Every time someone stood up who looked mildly Middle Eastern everyone became tense, and watched the person. The whole thing was very weird. May have not been a rough flight in the physical sense, but it certainly was psychologically, given all that had just happened.