One other more humorous event. Flying on TWA late one night into Des Moines. The pilot was taxiing to the jetway and the ground attendant was standing in the open jetway. At some point, the ground attendant realized the pilot was going too far, started flailing his arms at the pilot, and finally turned and ran back up the jetway. Sure enough, the pilot buried the jetway into the wing about two feet. Everyone on the plane was silent until the pilot said, "Well folks, it looks like we have a problem here." Everyone burst out laughing at that point.
Your wild plane ride stories, please
- Thread starter pourcyne
- Start date
Another one- on my way back from South Carolina, landing in Chicago. We were making our final descent, and suddenly started going back up (not in a jerky way, but you could tell we changed from descent to ascent). A few moments later, the place does this abrupt downward shift with a quick left-right sway back and forth. A minute later the pilot apologized and said that we flew into the wash from another plane that was taking off.
You work in the airline industry but have never flown before? That's gotta be a little weird.
I don't fly too often, maybe once per quarter for work/vacation, but it seems like I've had my fair share of interesting plane stories. A couple come to mind:
Connecting at Reagan in DC heading to NYC. We board the plane and are getting ready to back away from the gate. The pilot turns on the engines and we hear a mini-explosion, the plane shakes drastically, and a few minutes later the cabin begins filling lightly with smoke. The captain comes on the intercom and only says "Deplane. Deplane immediately." Needless to say people are semi-freaking out. The flight attendants in the back try and open the rear door to alleviate some of the smoke but its jammed and won't open (that's a good feeling). So after a little panic, we all get off the plane and see a giant pile below the engine and pieces/parts of the engine blown all the way behind the plane. Turns out someone left the A/C hose hooked up to the plane and when they started the engines, it sucked the hose thru one of them. I'm guessing he got fired. About 4 hours later (and a missed Cubs/Mets game), we made it to New York.
I've had an aborted landing and take-off in Vegas, both times there was a "communication issue" with the tower. The take off one had everyone freaked out since we were about half way down the runway.
Last one, flying into Denver with some of the worst turbulence I've ever had. To the point where people in the plane were getting sick and during some of the drops/twists, you could hear the collective "oohhhh" from the plane.
Connecting at Reagan in DC heading to NYC. We board the plane and are getting ready to back away from the gate. The pilot turns on the engines and we hear a mini-explosion, the plane shakes drastically, and a few minutes later the cabin begins filling lightly with smoke. The captain comes on the intercom and only says "Deplane. Deplane immediately." Needless to say people are semi-freaking out. The flight attendants in the back try and open the rear door to alleviate some of the smoke but its jammed and won't open (that's a good feeling). So after a little panic, we all get off the plane and see a giant pile below the engine and pieces/parts of the engine blown all the way behind the plane. Turns out someone left the A/C hose hooked up to the plane and when they started the engines, it sucked the hose thru one of them. I'm guessing he got fired. About 4 hours later (and a missed Cubs/Mets game), we made it to New York.
I've had an aborted landing and take-off in Vegas, both times there was a "communication issue" with the tower. The take off one had everyone freaked out since we were about half way down the runway.
Last one, flying into Denver with some of the worst turbulence I've ever had. To the point where people in the plane were getting sick and during some of the drops/twists, you could hear the collective "oohhhh" from the plane.
Once I was on a plane flying into Atlanta during a storm. It was the most turbulence I have experienced. The plane was getting thrown about and bouncing all over the place. Some of the oxygen masks deployed, not due to air pressure, just because the plane was bouncing so hard. It was a really white knuckle landing. Only time I have been on a plane when adults were applauding when the plane landed.
Another time we were waiting to leave Omaha and there were storms about. The pilot announced we were going to wait about 10 minutes for a clearing. About 1 minute later he fires it up and takes off down the runway. We take off getting bounced about for a few minutes. Once things settled down the pilot comes on and tells us there was a slight opening in between 2 storm cells so they decided to go for it. I'm sure quite a few people would have preferred he would have waited the 10 minutes.
Another time we were waiting to leave Omaha and there were storms about. The pilot announced we were going to wait about 10 minutes for a clearing. About 1 minute later he fires it up and takes off down the runway. We take off getting bounced about for a few minutes. Once things settled down the pilot comes on and tells us there was a slight opening in between 2 storm cells so they decided to go for it. I'm sure quite a few people would have preferred he would have waited the 10 minutes.
I guess my two best are...
1.) BHM to MCO (fine fine, Birmingham to Orlando) one late spring evening on a Friday to go to Florida to relax for a weekend
It was a normal flight until we started moving into the Florida peninsula, and the whole thing was lit up by massive lightning storms and clouds blocked any views. We approached down to Orlando, and the pilot informed us we didn't have ground clearance for Orlando on account of a squall line, so we were going to have to wait it out for a few in the air. "A few" turned into 20 minutes, then into 40 minutes, but in the middle somewhere Mr. Pilot told us, "So things are still patchy down there; if we do not have clearance soon, we are going to have to divert to Tampa to stop-over, refuel, and then quickly make the trek back to Orlando."
So, finally, about 45 minutes of hanging later, we start to make an approach... Before we do, though, Mr. Pilot comes out again and says, "Alright, folks, we're first in line for an Orlando landing when this opens up in a few minutes, and we're going to give it one shot, and, after that, it's straight to Tampa, and we're landing there no matter what as quickly a we can." He kind of slipped at the end there, by implication--that is, we're *really* low on fuel, and conditions in Tampa aren't much better, so we're going to give this one try, and if that doesn't work, Tampa is basically a de facto emergency landing that we have to stick no matter the conditions on fuel concerns. I had a wifi up on a radar app to see that was the issue the whole time, and, well, both looked bad, and Jacksonville/Ft. Meyes/PCB/Miami were far away and looking like they had their own problems. It was a bumpy, wet one to say the least. Never a moment I was really in my seat, and I didn't see the ground on account of clouds and rain until we practically smacked into it.
We made it, but I wondered how long it was going to be until we were gliding.
2.) ORD to DCA (again, Chicago-O'Hare to Washington-National)
I was coming back from, I think, Calgary to Washington, and had a late flight out of O'Hare on a United 757 (I think) back to National. It was another one of those dark, windy, spooky nights you get in Washington in the late winter, and we approached DCA from the north on the "river visual" pattern (following the black ribbon of the Potomac, with the empty space for Arlington National Cemetery with no lights off to the right). It was incredibly turbulent--I've had roller coasters that treated me more gently by a wide margin. Up, down, left right, up, down, down, down, left, right, up, etc. We got close the first time, didn't seem to have the right angle, and I could hear the engines throttle up, and then we came back around and did the same thing with the same results.
The captain came on, "Sorry, folks, but the weather here and the tight approach is making this really difficult. We're going to give it one more shot, but then we're going to have to go to Dulles and touch down to hunker down for the night." So, we give it one more go, and it's the same results in terms of movement and bucking, but, by the end, we hit the ground hard and the pilot sticks the thing. Once we are slow, taxiing over the tarmac, he comes back on, "People, I've been doing this almost forty years, and I few F-4s over Hanoi back in Vietnam. I have never had a harder or a rougher approach or landing in my entire career than what we all just went through. Thanks everybody for sticking with me through it, and I'm glad we got you home without having to go to Dulles or Baltimore, where it would still have been bad but at least we'd have more space to work with." ~or something to that effect, particularly the bold material
1.) BHM to MCO (fine fine, Birmingham to Orlando) one late spring evening on a Friday to go to Florida to relax for a weekend
It was a normal flight until we started moving into the Florida peninsula, and the whole thing was lit up by massive lightning storms and clouds blocked any views. We approached down to Orlando, and the pilot informed us we didn't have ground clearance for Orlando on account of a squall line, so we were going to have to wait it out for a few in the air. "A few" turned into 20 minutes, then into 40 minutes, but in the middle somewhere Mr. Pilot told us, "So things are still patchy down there; if we do not have clearance soon, we are going to have to divert to Tampa to stop-over, refuel, and then quickly make the trek back to Orlando."
So, finally, about 45 minutes of hanging later, we start to make an approach... Before we do, though, Mr. Pilot comes out again and says, "Alright, folks, we're first in line for an Orlando landing when this opens up in a few minutes, and we're going to give it one shot, and, after that, it's straight to Tampa, and we're landing there no matter what as quickly a we can." He kind of slipped at the end there, by implication--that is, we're *really* low on fuel, and conditions in Tampa aren't much better, so we're going to give this one try, and if that doesn't work, Tampa is basically a de facto emergency landing that we have to stick no matter the conditions on fuel concerns. I had a wifi up on a radar app to see that was the issue the whole time, and, well, both looked bad, and Jacksonville/Ft. Meyes/PCB/Miami were far away and looking like they had their own problems. It was a bumpy, wet one to say the least. Never a moment I was really in my seat, and I didn't see the ground on account of clouds and rain until we practically smacked into it.
We made it, but I wondered how long it was going to be until we were gliding.
2.) ORD to DCA (again, Chicago-O'Hare to Washington-National)
I was coming back from, I think, Calgary to Washington, and had a late flight out of O'Hare on a United 757 (I think) back to National. It was another one of those dark, windy, spooky nights you get in Washington in the late winter, and we approached DCA from the north on the "river visual" pattern (following the black ribbon of the Potomac, with the empty space for Arlington National Cemetery with no lights off to the right). It was incredibly turbulent--I've had roller coasters that treated me more gently by a wide margin. Up, down, left right, up, down, down, down, left, right, up, etc. We got close the first time, didn't seem to have the right angle, and I could hear the engines throttle up, and then we came back around and did the same thing with the same results.
The captain came on, "Sorry, folks, but the weather here and the tight approach is making this really difficult. We're going to give it one more shot, but then we're going to have to go to Dulles and touch down to hunker down for the night." So, we give it one more go, and it's the same results in terms of movement and bucking, but, by the end, we hit the ground hard and the pilot sticks the thing. Once we are slow, taxiing over the tarmac, he comes back on, "People, I've been doing this almost forty years, and I few F-4s over Hanoi back in Vietnam. I have never had a harder or a rougher approach or landing in my entire career than what we all just went through. Thanks everybody for sticking with me through it, and I'm glad we got you home without having to go to Dulles or Baltimore, where it would still have been bad but at least we'd have more space to work with." ~or something to that effect, particularly the bold material
Because I travel so much I've got a list that goes on and on, but I'll only share a couple.
1994 flying from Dallas to Des Moines on an American Airlines flight we hit turbulence that was incredible. Fortunately I was seatbelted because those who weren't were thrown around the cabin. It was f'ing crazy! My arms would flail around in the air as the plane dropped and then they'd smack down into my lap as the plane was thrown upward. Sodas, that had been sitting on seat-back trays, were hitting the ceiling of the plane and one lady actually lost hold of the baby she was holding but had the presence of mind to squeeze it between her knees and seatback as the child slid downward. Two of the flight attendants had injuries that required attention when we landed. This went on for easily 45 seconds and was the most scared I've ever been in flight.
1996 taking off from Des Moines to Cincinnati on a Comair/Delta connection on a really really cold morning around 5:50am. We started takeoff building up speed toward takeoff and the nose had come up and suddenly the pilot slams the breaks on and cut the engines as we screeched toward the end of the runway. All of our heads basically slammed into the seat in front of us, we'd stopped that quickly. The Captain wasn't happy with how the engines were responding, saying they were "cold". We drove around and to the end of the runway and off we went, which was a little unnerving.
1997 flying from Richmond, VA into Pittsburgh on USAirways flight and on approach a plane pulled onto the runway in front of us right before touching down. The captain jacked up the engines to full and off we went to circle around for another try. Really wasn't that scared about it until I saw the captains face when we were getting off the plane; he was traumatized.
1999 taking off from Atlanta to Orlando on a Delta flight we'd barely left the ground when an engine caught fire. Passengers noticed immediately as the plane jostled a bit and then the flames and smoke started and all you could hear was "ding, ding..., ding, ding, ding, ding" as people who could see it started pressing their Flight Attendant Call buttons, which was funny. We circled around the city of Atlanta and the emergency crews were waiting for us with a foamed runway.
If you fly enough, and live through them, you're bound to have several of these stories.
1994 flying from Dallas to Des Moines on an American Airlines flight we hit turbulence that was incredible. Fortunately I was seatbelted because those who weren't were thrown around the cabin. It was f'ing crazy! My arms would flail around in the air as the plane dropped and then they'd smack down into my lap as the plane was thrown upward. Sodas, that had been sitting on seat-back trays, were hitting the ceiling of the plane and one lady actually lost hold of the baby she was holding but had the presence of mind to squeeze it between her knees and seatback as the child slid downward. Two of the flight attendants had injuries that required attention when we landed. This went on for easily 45 seconds and was the most scared I've ever been in flight.
1996 taking off from Des Moines to Cincinnati on a Comair/Delta connection on a really really cold morning around 5:50am. We started takeoff building up speed toward takeoff and the nose had come up and suddenly the pilot slams the breaks on and cut the engines as we screeched toward the end of the runway. All of our heads basically slammed into the seat in front of us, we'd stopped that quickly. The Captain wasn't happy with how the engines were responding, saying they were "cold". We drove around and to the end of the runway and off we went, which was a little unnerving.
1997 flying from Richmond, VA into Pittsburgh on USAirways flight and on approach a plane pulled onto the runway in front of us right before touching down. The captain jacked up the engines to full and off we went to circle around for another try. Really wasn't that scared about it until I saw the captains face when we were getting off the plane; he was traumatized.
1999 taking off from Atlanta to Orlando on a Delta flight we'd barely left the ground when an engine caught fire. Passengers noticed immediately as the plane jostled a bit and then the flames and smoke started and all you could hear was "ding, ding..., ding, ding, ding, ding" as people who could see it started pressing their Flight Attendant Call buttons, which was funny. We circled around the city of Atlanta and the emergency crews were waiting for us with a foamed runway.
If you fly enough, and live through them, you're bound to have several of these stories.
Had the similar experience just last week. Before taking off, the attendant informed us that this would be the captain's retirement flight. We got the water salute before we took off and when we landed we got another one although it was just on the gate and small one (compared to the full water salute on the runway before taking off).
The captain was presented when we landed and everyone congratulated him. It was a neat experience.
August 2007 from San Jose to Minneapolis - almost the entire flight was really bumpy except the last 20 minutes. So practically the seatbelt stayed on because of heavy turbulence.
The past couple of years, I've experienced more and more turbulences during the flights compared to let's say, 10 years ago. Not trying to make this political, but IIRC there was an article mentioning this as a result of climate change, more turbulences in the sky.
The past couple of years, I've experienced more and more turbulences during the flights compared to let's say, 10 years ago. Not trying to make this political, but IIRC there was an article mentioning this as a result of climate change, more turbulences in the sky.
Christmas '05 I think? Family with significant others was flying MCI to LAX via DEN. I think we were leaving a couple days before Christmas and there was a major blizzard impacting the middle of the country. Rain in KC but Denver ended up getting walloped and shut down. Plane was cancelled while we were in check in line. We were about 5 groups back from the counter and it took an hour to get to the desk. Rerouting was a ***** being the holiday and the storm... but they found something that worked for us the next day. Our group of six was rerouted on two different planes to Washington DC, Dulles where we all caught a red eye to LA. All sitting separate seats (my now wife's first time flying) The second of the two planes just barely made the connection in DC too.
A week later, on our way home, we made our normal connection in Denver only to see there were some people still stranded from the first storm. The next day Denver got hit again with another foot of snow.
Not really terrible in the air, but a nightmare logistics situation.
A week later, on our way home, we made our normal connection in Denver only to see there were some people still stranded from the first storm. The next day Denver got hit again with another foot of snow.
Not really terrible in the air, but a nightmare logistics situation.
I should also add my flight from Fort Meyers to Key West in a little puddle jumper. I think there were 8 seats, and only 3 people plus the pilot on board. I sat one row behind and to the right of the pilot. There should definitely be a wall between me and the pilot, as I was watching all the gauges, trying to figure out if anything was going wrong, judging the age and general health of the pilot and fully ready to choke out the guy in front of me should he turn out to be a terrorist. Lol
I'm pretty sure that was the year my flight out of Denver was cancelled and they had to shut the airport down. The national guard came and handed out blankets and water. After spending 36 hours in the airport and finding out our next flight would be in a week, we rented a car and drove home through another snowstorm.
Okay, I have a funny one. It was a January 4 in the mid-90's, I was going from Mpls to Ft Myers to visit my aunt. Apparently every one else was heading down there for the rest of winter. I always refer to the flight as "The Flying Nursing Home" because I was the youngest passenger on board and probably the only one who could walk without assistance. Everyone else was at least 97. It was such a scream. All that was missing were the IV's in the aisle, I swear.
At any rate, after the meal service (yeah, this was a long time ago), the flight attendants all hid and refused to appear, probably because everyone kept ordering more coffee and/or complaining about the meal. At one point a voice came on the mic to announce that "There is a pillow in the aisle. This is against FAA regulations. Someone, please, pick up that pillow, please." Not one attendant would venture back into the cabin to get it. I kid you not.
The best part probably was when the pilot came on to announce that it was 54° in Ft. Myers. I was overjoyed, it was 14° back in Iowa, 54° was going to be a treat, but every head in front of me snapped to attention...ehrmagad, they were all going to freeze to death.
I know, I know, probably a mean take on the whole deal. Your flight miles may vary.
