On a Dash-8 YYG-YHZ, about halfway to YHZ we get the announcement, "Please fasten your seatbelts, and pour your drinks on the floor immediately." Seconds later, we began what could only be described as a 20-minute thrashing. About half the passengers were sick to the point of throwing up.

A close second was the Dash-8 ride YYG-YUL on the evening of 03/08/2008. Yes, we flew into that blizzard. It was bumpy for the last hour or so doing circuits over YUL, and the landing was absolutely harrowing. Although, when landing with a 60+ knot headwind you really don't need much runway. After landing, we pulled onto the taxiway and were literally blown sideways as the aircraft weathercocked and the main gear slid. The pilots got it back on the taxiway and we were blown sideways again. Finally, we made it onto the main taxiway, but by this time visibility had dropped to zero. We spent about 2 hours being buffetted by the tailwind - engines running - while a crew made its way out to lead us to the terminal.

After seeing the conditions inside the terminal that night, I almost wanted to get back on that comfy Dash.