Have you ever been on a plane you thought was about to crash?

[teedubya]

I was in Chicago for a speaking event at the University of Chicago's School of Business yesterday... and my flight kept getting delayed from 5pm to 7:30pm... to finally 10:15pm. And the flight from Chicago to KC felt like it was going to crash.

That was the most intense, turbulent flight, out of easily over 100 flights that, I've ever experienced... I was lifted up off my seat several times and it shook open overhead bins. The pilot fought to keep the wings balanced through approximately 45 minutes of thinking this may be my last day on Earth.

I'm still nauseous, although grateful to be alive and on the ground... count your blessings today and hug your loved ones. You never know when it's your time to leave this rock. ♥

Now tomorrow morning, I fly to New Orleans. UGH. Don't feel like flying right now, actually. I need more than a day to get my balls to descend.

Has anything similar happened to you?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by notorious

Wimps.

I have had two engine failures in a single engine aircraft. One happened at 1 am southeast of Amarrilo and the other was around Lyons.

Threw a rod on the first and broken crankshaft on the second.

Don't just stop the stories there. Did you survive?

[mikeyis4dcats.]

flew into Memphis once on a small (20 seat) turbojet. As we came in about 50 feet above the runway, we hit windshear, and had to bolter. The stewardess sits on a little jump seat on the back of the cockpit door, and she is visible near tears the turbulence has been so bad, and she about loses it. Took 3 attempts to land, and the only flight I've ever been on where the passengers clapped on the ground.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Don't just stop the stories there. Did you survive?

Modern science was able to piece me back together.

[LOCOChief]

When I was a kid my dad brought me with him on a business flight to Little Rock on a small twin enginge plane with about a dozen other business men on board. We flew into a violent thunderstorm that threw anything unsecured all over the cabin of the plane. Grown men were crying and praying out loud. Needless to say I was trippin, but dad remained cool.

[Carlota69]

Originally Posted by Fish

Just saw the movie Flight last night. **** that noise......

Great movie!
I hate flying.
Flew to London on a Miller Beer chartered flight. Peolpe were partying liek crazy. Up and out of their seats drinkign all the free beer they could handle. I had never been on a flight like that. At one point the Captain gets on and says, "And to our left is Ireland". a few minutes alter the flight attendents are right next to me asking each other how they are going to get everyone to sit down becasue something was happening. Then the captian came on and said "I need eveyone in teir seats and buckled up. We are emergency landing and I dont want your head to hit the top of the plane" And then we dropped-BIGITME!!! Holy shit I was scared. All I could picture was emergency landing in a sheep field. Then we went right back up. When we landed in London, ambulances were surrounding us. Apparently someone ha d amajor medical emergency and as we were going down, someone stepped up as a doctor.

After I got home from that trip, it took me years to fly again.

One thing I do now is dramamine and valium or xanyx. Both combined really take care of the nerves and naseua.

[RINGLEADER]

Three times.

Recently flying into KC from LA and we drove straight into a thunderstorm. He tried to land twice but after getting spit out of the cloud a second time he turned tail and we went to Omaha to wait it out. If they would have opened the doors and let us out I would have finished that trip in a car. My P&M were watching the progress of the flight on the computer and told me they knew it was bad as the plane slowly made its way into a bright red glob of pixels on the screen and they saw the air speed go to 0 MPH. On the plane it felt like we went to 0 MPH too.

The second time was flying into Phoenix in the middle of 60 MPH winds. We were dropping, moving side-ways, up-and-down. The pilot was extending flaps, retracting flaps, and eventually I got the sense that he just pushed down to push through the layer of bad weather and got us through it. It was surreal though because while I'm seeing my impending doom, everyone else on the plane is laughing and whooping it up about how much fun they're having and how this is much better than the stupid rides at Disneyland. After we landed I had to immediately go and get on another plane for the next leg of my trip to KC via Greyhound Airways (aka Southwest, who back in the day would take you from Ontario, CA to Phoenix, then to Albuquerque, then to Oklahoma City, then to KC) which I dreaded, but it wasn't so bad taking off.

The first (and worst) time was taking a puddle-jumper from Victoria Island, BC to Seattle to go through customs. We were on final approach, everything was fine, then BOOM. Suddenly the plane is sideways and the pilot has the engines rev'd as high as they'll go as he tries to pull out before we hit the ground. Fortunately he succeeded. Afterwards the guy I was with was talking to the pilot and he said the ATC screwed up and had him descend into the jet wash of a 747 - which evidently was akin to running into a brick wall.

Anyway, I may not have crashed, but at least I got some material to post on ChiefsPlanet...

[houstonwhodat]

Damn it's crazy up there in Tornado Alley ain't it?

[seclark]

flew from kv to mitchell, sd on a kingair for a quick meeting one time. my boss got airsick and puked all over everything. no one was frightened, but it stunk like holy hell.
sec

[Frazod]

I'll see your rough 45 minute flight and raise you a 10 day crossing of the North Atlantic on a ship in January.

Wuss.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by frazod

I'll see your rough 45 minute flight and raise you a 10 day crossing of the North Atlantic on a ship in January.

Wuss.

You black shoe sea sailors have to pay that price, it is a given.

[teedubya]

Originally Posted by NewChief

The scariest part to me were the 50-75 foot sudden DROPs in altitude.

That's what was getting me... that shit was nuts.... lifting me up out of my seat. If I hadn't had my seatbelt on, I'd of been flying all over the place.

[Nzoner]

Last year early flight back to KC from Vegas and feeling like total crap after six days of partying.Vegas was clear but we were aware there were storms pretty much everywhere ahead of us and shortly before flying over Denver the pilot came on and said,"sorry to have to report this folks but we have some nasty weather from here on in and there's no way around it so I'm going to do my best to go thru it.From here on everyone needs to stay buckled in including attendants and I'll make our ride as comfortable as possible."

Within the next few minutes it got real rocky,bins never flew open but there were more than a few puckered aholes on the flight.The captain actually was very good about updating us every five to ten minutes but imo it was overkill and made for even more of a scary flight.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Nzoner

Last year early flight back to KC from Vegas and feeling like total crap after six days of partying.Vegas was clear but we were aware there were storms pretty much everywhere ahead of us and shortly before flying over Denver the pilot came on and said,"sorry to have to report this folks but we have some nasty weather from here on in and there's no way around it so I'm going to do my best to go thru it.From here on everyone needs to stay buckled in including attendants and I'll make our ride as comfortable as possible."

Within the next few minutes it got real rocky,bins never flew open but there were more than a few puckered aholes on the flight.The captain actually was very good about updating us every five to ten minutes but imo it was overkill and made for even more of a scary flight.

On a different topic, I'm really getting annoyed at the constant and increasing loudspeaker gabbing on airlines. I want an update from the pilot if something is going on, but I need the airlines to stop gabbing at me over that thing. It's annoying.

It seems like recently the plane will land and my wife and I will start to figure out our plans. The conversation goes like this:


Me: Okay our rental car is at -

Airline: WE HAVE NOW LANDED THE PLANE. KEEP YOUR ARMS AND LEGS INSIDE THE WINDOWS AT ALL TIMES. IF YOU HAVE TRASH, TAKE IT WITH YOU.

Me: It's at Thrifty. I got us a full-

Airline: WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR FLYING WITH NOLEGROOM AIRLINES. WE REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE A CHOICE AND APPRECIATE YOU FLYING WITH US.

Wife: Do you want to go to lunch first or -

Airline: FEEL FREE TO TAKE YOUR INFLIGHT MAGAZINE IF YOU LIKE. ALSO, SKYMALL IS HAVING A SPECIAL PRICE ON GLOW IN THE DARK ASTRONAUT PENS.

Wife: So anyway, Chili's or that little restaurant down the -

Airline: THE GLOW IN THE DARK ASTRONAUT PENS ARE ON PAGE 56 OF THE SKYMALL CATALOG. THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE IS 56 DEGREES, AND THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS 30 PERCENT. THE WINDS ARE 5 MILES PER HOUR FROM THE NORTH/NORTHWEST.

Me: I'd like to stop and get a souvenir magnet before -

Airline: I KNOW I MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, BUT WE'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR FLYING WITH US. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ORDER OUR CREDIT CARD, YOU'LL GET 8,000 FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND THE TERMS OF CREDIT ARE 36 PERCENT PER YEAR WITH FEES ON VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING YOU DO.

Wife: Let's just wait and talk once we get off the pl-

Airline: THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG. HAVE I MENTIONED THE CREDIT CARD THING YET? IF YOU HAVE EARPHONES, GIVE THEM BACK NOW OR YOU CAN PURCHASE OUR EARPHONE PLAN FOR ONLY $3.99 PER MONTH. YOU CAN ALSO PURCHASE OUR EARPHONE PLAN INSURANCE FOR AN ADDITIONAL $0.99 PER MONTH. I WILL NOW TURN THE MICROPHONE OVER TO OUR CAPTAIN SO HE CAN UPDATE YOU ON HIS PROCESS OF SHUTTING DOWN THE ENGINES.

[Dartgod]

On approach into Minneapolis and the pilot overshot the runway. We were probably a 1/3 of the way down the runway and still a couple of hundred feet off the ground. They spooled up the engines and aborted the landing. It really didn't bother me that much, but the lady across the aisle from me was white as a ghost.

[Johnny Vegas]

after landing where I live, in a valley---down by the river, as I was walking out of the plane the pilot came out of the cockpit and looked like he just got out of a pool after jumping in with clothes on. Sweat beads all over his forehead running down his face. That particular landing was like a 15 minute negative gravity effect. My stomach was lodged in my throat and I couldn't dislodge it till I was walking off the plane. It really is a shitty landing in any valley.