Two come to mind:

1. In the 1990s, flying HP often from CMH to PHX and then on to points west from there, we were about to land somewhere on the west coast, when the pilot, just inches from touching down, abruptly pulled the plane back up at an angle I had not previously known a plane capable of managing. During the silence that followed, terrified passengers began to wonder what was wrong with our plane. We circled for quite a while, thinking that the pilot was passing over the control tower to have the landing gear checked.

Turned out that a private plane had wandered onto the runway in the jet's path, and the pilot pulled us back up to avoid collision. Would have saved quite a bit of terror had he told us earlier what had happened. But I'm sure he had his hands full talking to the tower about the little guy that scared one hundred people quite a bit.


2. About a week after a NW plane had encountered turbulence on a certain route, wherein many passengers were sent to the hospital with serious injuries that at least required stitches and casts, and such, I was on another NW flight in a similar area. We encountered turbulence so bad that the pilot ordered everyone seated, including the crew. Warnings were made that the turbulence was going to be so strong that we really, absolutely, we're-not-kidding, you need your seatbelt on!

We encountered turbulence sooooo strong, that despite the fact that my seatbelt was sooooo tight I had likely cut off my blood supply, we hit a pocket where my butt left the seat. Sounds inrrational now, but when you're on that flight, all you can think of is, "what kind of damage did that do the plane?" and "will we land safely?"


Bonus: my first ever flight from Singapore- around 1995 on NWA. The breakfast. (Seriously gave me food poisoning.)