Ok, maybe not exactly ... On Oct 11 I flew on AA 1423 from ORD to SFO and experienced the most severe turbulence to that point. Approximately one hour into the flight, turbulence shook our MD-80 for anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes, causing our plane to free fall over a dozen times (I wasn't counting), only to be caught by the aged and rigid wings of a 20+ year old aircraft. I could hear the metal of the wings work in desperation as just enough air would catch under them to keep the plane in the air. The engines sounded like they were on full throttle as the plane seemed to be flying partially on its right side. The cabin was completely silent - not a whisper, not a scream (with the exception of soda cans flying through the coach cabin). As quickly as the turbulence appeared, it suddenly vanished.

I'm sure the turbulence wasn't as bad as I described above, but unfortunately that's how I remember it. Perhaps this incident doesn't deserve to be classified as "seconds from disaster" (as planes don't go down as a result of turbulence), but it does hit an interesting topic which doesn't seem to be covered on FT. As such, I was hoping people could use this thread to discuss their frightening in-air experiences - anything from engine failures to severe turbulence to unruly passengers.