2 bad experiences

the There bad experience we were still on the ground so not sure in it counts.

1. Concorde backaround 1998-99 - LHR-JFK - sitting in 1C, still at gate, shoes off and feet resting on bulkhead (just finished boarding & waiting for the doors to close, etc when I hear commotion coming from front of plane (row 1 was separated from cockpit by a lot of space) captain gets on PA & says "EVACUATE, EVACUATE, PLEASE LEAVE AIRCRAFT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, DO NOT TAKE YOUR BELINGINGS JUST MOVE!!!!" I go to grab my shoes but F/A tells me to leave them, just to RUN!!! I go out door which I was close to & see smoke coming from the cockpit as I exit. They had BA employees rushing people as far away from the gate area as psbl which after some thought made little sense since that plane sits on how mays tons of Kaerosene?? If it went up at the gate parked between 747's I figure all of T-4 would have gone with it

End of story, it was just a small fire in the cockpits AC unit and they got it right out but lots of smoke. BA brought another Concorde from the hanger & left 90 min late. They used to have so many problems that there was always a spare Concorde on standby in the hanger (something they didn't do at JFK unfortunately)

2. Truly horrifying experience on OZ from ICN-ORD. 5-6 years ago when they still used a 747 on that route. I was alone in First class with the exception of 2 uniformed pilots that would take turns napping in pairs in the last row (old cradle type F seats w foot rests in pairs of 2). Before 9/11 I used to spend A LOT of time in cockpits for landing or take off. BA, MH & EK would hardly ever say no if a passenger in F asked. The one thing I learned from sitting up there was there were major language problems between the ground & ATC when communications between ground and either OZ or KE. Sometimes it was pretty funny to hear the frustration, sometimes it wasn't)

Snow storm in ORD, almost no visibility & we were on final. Didn't see the ground till we were around 100 feet from it. The whole thing felt wrong & I was surprised they were even allowing landings. I turned to look at the off duty pilots and they both looked very nervous. Just then we touched down with our main gear only to hear the engines scream & up we went. I've been on aborted landings before but never a TOUCH AND GO landing. I thought that was it for up but up we went, circled around for 20-25 min while I assume the pilots were getting up there nerve to try again & finally landed. After the aborted landing all the way till we were on the ground almost a half hour later the pilot NEVER ONCE got on the intercom & spoke to us. The FA's were to terrified to move. They stayed strapped in and the 2 off duty pilots were in the very heated debate the whole time which of course I could not understand. I'm glad at the time I had never heard of FT and seen that thread about all the communication & training problems with OZ & KE. I should have my head examined but I still fly both OZ & KE although I try to avoid them both (OZ being a member of *A & KE being a member of Skywards leave ONE of them as my only choice quite often. Especially when I need a non stop out of / in to ICN but they (along with PIA) are the only flights I usually can't get comfortable on - just to nervous)

August 1985 or so, 100F+ outside, taking off in an old UA 727 on 34R in Reno. Just nearing rotation speed and passing the terminal building, we blew both tires on the right side main gear. The rubber got sucked into the #1 and #3 engines, shutting them both down. We coasted for about 2 seconds and then *slammed* on the brakes. I thought for sure we were going to be on Mill St (after slicing through the orange pylons at the end of the runway). We did manage to stop in the overrun.

I'd love to hear more!

In 2007 I was on an early Saturday morning (I believe) flight from Houston to LGA. Everything was peachy up until our back wheels touched down...a frickin' touch and go. We powered back up, circled Manhattan and landed on a different runway.

I noticed it was a different runway because I could see Shea Stadium (Mets fan) off of the left hand side. First touchdown it was a long way away and on the second touchdown it felt as if we were right next to Shea.

The Captain was waiting by the cockpit on the way out and I said, "That was fun"...no reply. No smile.

I hope i never end up on a flight next to you ;)

My worst was on a LHR-GLA flight. The descent was bumpy as hell, really high winds. General screaming and white-knuckles, girl across the aisle from me reaching filling sick bag. Attempted a landing which was then aborted before we were redirected to land at PIK.

"I'm so sorry sir, there is no more champagne"

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...68055540_n.jpg

During the hurricane in October 2012, we were to fly PIT-CLE-LAS the day the hurricane was starting to hit. The day we were to leave, I kept getting delay emails, but we went to PIT and were told we should go on to CLE even if we wouldn't make the connection, because otherwise we wouldn't get off the east coast for a few days. We did miss our connection, but fortunately our delay as mechanical so we were given a hotel.

It was already scary arriving to a "closed" and being literally the only flight left that was actually attempting to leave. We sat on the plane for a long time waiting for the crew and I remember sitting by the window watching the water on the runway get so high it covered the wheels. Before we pulled back, the pilot said he wasn't going to promise we were going to be able to make the take off, but he was at least going to try. One and only time I actually thought something really bad might happen to me while flying.

1
UA IAD-SAN 2012 The plane reached 30000 ft and suddenly nose dived to 10000 feet after a bang. I thought that was it. Then safely turned back.
I managed to get on to a IAD-SFO flight at once to avoid the fear factor.
Otherwise I do not think I would have been able to fly for a while after that one

2
BUF ~1991 Jan AC flight BUF-YOW I think
The wet snow was falling so hard that they deiced the plane 6 times
The memories of the crash on the Potomac were still vivid then
and even the captain sounded unsure on the intercom if it was safe to fly.

3
Summer 2009 Puddle jumper from DSM-MSP on DL
The summer storms were brewing and we went into clouds that threw the plane 100s of feet up and down. Obviously there was no drinks service, but if there was a time I needed the HOOU coupon, it was then.

4
AA to IND in Spring 1995 from ORD
The pilot landed it so hard it was like he dunked the plane. My worst landing. It bounced up 30 ft and then fell again and then slowed down. Too fast and hard. Almost gave up flying domestic then.

5
ORD 1991 - AA flight to PDX
The plane backed into another plane while leaving the gate!
I was wondering it the pilot was OK to fly this thing if he could not even get it to a runway safely.

6
1991 HKG to SIN - landed at Kai Tak in pouring rain;
(luckily did not know enough then to realize that was a scary landing)
then the SIA 747 flight to SIN was delayed due to weather
There was a cyclone nearby and we missed leaving by a few minutes, then the storm hit.
We were on the ground for more than 8 hrs after boarding due to the edges of the storm
Now they may have brought the jetways back, but then, it was just stay in the plane quietly.
The 747 was buffeted by strong winds and it was terrifying to be rocked while on the ground.
The captain kept us "calm" by telling us that the previous flight that took off in this weather did not make it. Liar. There was no crash on the papers the next day, but I guess an asian airline can get away with these things. We were just thankful to arrive in SIN and go onwards.

Interesting, how long did you wait?

I took off once in Beijing right after a row of severe thunderstorms have just passed. The storm delay our flight for 3 hours but once we took off, the lightning was still flashing around the plane, which made for a "hairy" takeoff. Although I realize planes do get hit by lightning on average once a year, usually with no serious consequences, it did made me a little more tense than usual, nonetheless.

FRA-EWR
 

1995 or there about. FRA to DTW. Scheduled on a NWA DC-10. Get to the airport, and go thru 4 gate changes and a lot of frustration before they tell us the plane is broke, and that they need to put us up for the night. Overnight in FRA, and the next morning I am rebooked on Lufthansa first class to EWR. From coach to first class. Talk about posh.

Anyway, all is going well thru takeoff role and on climb out. About 10,000 feet all hell breaks loose. I hear a loud bang, like a gun shot from the back of the cabin. The forward flight attendants haul tail toward the rear of the airplane. Then the plane goes into the silence that many before have described. The pilot comes on and says a rear cargo door blew open, we have declared an emergency and that we are headed back to Frankfurt. The landing was nothing eventful, but the next 3 hours on the tarmac were painful. They "fix the plane", and we continue on. Of course, then I missed my connection in ERW, and all of the hotels at the Airport were booked. NWA put me in a hotel 20 minutes from the airport, so I had to take a taxi thru Newark. Talk about scary... Anyway, I am glad that the blowout happened early, as opposed to at 35,000.

#2) Coming home from Germany again,FRA-DTW-MSP-FSD... DTW-MSP we circle over Rochester for 2 hours waiting for storms to clear, and the pilot tells us we have 20 minutes before we head back to DET. Five minutes later, the plane descends abruptly, and we land. During the taxi the pilot tells us he saw a clearing, and took it. We walk into a ghost town of a terminal, with an annoying announcement repeating. "Tornado Warning, Take Shelter". I guess the pilot wanted to get home.

I hate flying. :td:But I love it too. ^It is a true love hate relationship. :confused:

You know, I don't remember exactly. I think we were waiting on crew because they weren't sure they'd even be able to get us enough to be able to take off. Probably about 45-60 minutes - definitely long enough that I saw the water rise a few inches. I couldn't believe we were going when the runway was literally flooding.

November 1991. UA 744 SFO-->HKG. About 8 hours out (roughly halfway)when Captain came on with a "flight attendants, sit down now!" For about 5 minutes it was calm and then the turbulence very quickly escalated from moderate to severe to extreme. That plane was bouncing around with wicked force. The frame creaked and groaned. The engines were running between idle and full thrust. Lasted for about 10 mins (though it seemed a lot longer) and then it returned to calm for the remainder of our journey.

My seat mate was in maintenance for UA, based in HKG. As we were experiencing the heavy turbulence he leaned over to me and said--with a smile--that "You know, those engines are only held on by 4 bolts."

Sounds like landing almost any month of the year at Juneau, Alaska! :D

I have had a few;

ATL-ORD - The last half of the flight was literally flow with a wing tip angled sharply at the ground, they claimed it was severe crosswinds but it was very un-nerving and a lot of the flight got sick.

DIA - At the beginning of the runway for take-off, inside glass on a windshield window shattered onto the controls and the pilots, they said we could have safely flown but returned to the gate, departing the plane there was glass everywhere in the cockpit. Must have scared the heck out of them when it shattered.

IAD-DIA - Coming in for a landing, there was another aircraft just turning onto the end of the runway, our pilot just about stalled our plane to get over and past them and then nailed us to the runway, I saw the other plane because we crabbed(turned to the side) as the pilot maneuvered.

DIA-IAH - We had fuel gauge issues that delayed our flight, we took off, right at the point of no return we turned back for DIA, then had to fly around for nearly an hour to burn off fuel, because they thought we would run dry before IAH. It was a little harrowing to hear them talking on CH9(UA flight) about emergency preparations for our flight. We landed safely, there were two pilots at the skybridge that had more gold than any pilot I have ever seen, pretty much dressing down the pilots from our plane for ever taking off. We had to wait over 2 hours for a new flight crew, delayed us 4-1/2hrs, we got meal vouchers while we waited.

DIA-DCA the week after 9/11, it was the quietest flight I have ever been on, both the pilots were prior military and assured us that we would have a safe flight and that if anyone felt like acting up, they would make sure they regretted it.

ANC-VDZ - Heavy fog, we made two tries but it was too foggy, flew around for a bit then tried again and the visibility was better and we landed. The VDZ airport is right by a mountain, so if you miss, well, you get the idea.


Safe Travels!
-Patrick

Now that you mentioned 9/11, I remember I had a colleague named Yosef. A Muslim, but born and raised in the US, so just a typical American but with unfortunate timing. He had to fly a week after 9/11. He was allowed to board but he had to be escorted and guarded over by two beefy security personnel at all times. He was not allowed to move to a different empty seat and the security personnel even had to followed him to the toilet.

I don't know if it was a terrifying experience for him, but it certainly was an unpleasant flight.