Your wild plane ride stories, please

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pourcyne

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Feb 19, 2011
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Did you read about the near-miss in Barcelona this weekend? Have any wild airplane experiences to share?

[video=youtube_share;1N5THRSp4hM]http://youtu.be/1N5THRSp4hM[/video]
 

chuckd4735

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I dont fly often, but I have been in a plane twice that had to abort landing and do a go-around because the runway was not clear. I feel like this has to be a somewhat common occurrence for busy airports, or its just a coincidence that it has happened to me twice in my maybe 25 air trips.
 

CloneinWDSM

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Aug 9, 2013
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I should really avoid this thread as I fly to DC for my first plane ride ever in a few months.
 

cowgirl836

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I should really avoid this thread as I fly to DC for my first plane ride ever in a few months.


yeah, you should probably close this thread. Or look at the silver lining that everyone posting their stories obviously survived.
 

CloneinWDSM

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yeah, you should probably close this thread. Or look at the silver lining that everyone posting their stories obviously survived.

Meh, working in the aviation industry, I know that Air is the safest form of travel. Not worried about the crashing and dying as much as the turbulence and getting sick as a first time flyer.
 

Goothrey

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May 5, 2009
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Dayton via Austin
I threw up on first flight as a part of the Flying Cyclones club (Cessna 182). Couldn't find the barf bag...that was a wild ride.
 

GrindingAway

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My plane got hit by a service truck sitting at the gate. Hard enough it knocked me off my feet. That was my second time flying.

On the way home from my honeymoon we got struck by lightning. I thought we were done on that one.
 

Farnsworth

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Apr 11, 2006
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Des Moines, IA
Not a close call or incident, but my favorite plane ride was on the way to Australia for study abroad. The plane was filled with 90% college students doing the same thing and this was back when booze was free on international flights. It wad a crazy party in the sky. A guy I was traveling with passed out twice on the way there.
 

Acylum

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Nov 18, 2006
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Apparently the plane on the LEFT has the right of way.
 

cycloner29

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Dec 17, 2008
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Ames
Going from Denver to Seattle and we are on the runway picking up speed to take off, when I notice this brown looking fluid running across the bottom of the overhead bins. I am looking back at the stewardess, you know the 50+ year old lady trying to look like a 20 year old, and point this out to her and she just gives me this glare like what are you talking about look. The gal in front of me was in panic mode at the time almost ready to freak out. The steward then looks at the overhead bins and finds nothing. She wipes it off and we land in Seattle a couple of hours later. Had no idea what it was or the origin of it.
 

Stewo

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Not a plane, rather a chopper, but on my 29th birthday we were flying to a FOB on the Pakistan border and just as we got over a small group of mountains, we dropped probably 20 or so feet. I thought for certain that was going to be it for me.
 

wxman1

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So far as a pilot I have been pretty lucky. Only slightly scary things I have had are nearly hitting birds while on final, having someone give the same position report as me in the pattern and hitting random updrafts that very briefly knock you around.
 

brianhos

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Had a plane abort a landing probably 25 feet above the runway because of windshear. Lady behind me threw up all over the floor it was so rough.

Not really wild, but I was on a flight from MSP->DSM that left 2 hrs late, circled the DSM airport 6 times and returned to MSP. We landed at 2am, and then rented a car and drove to DSM. I had to work the next morning.
 

chuckd4735

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We were on our way back from Puerto Vallarta to Chicago for our senior trip, and for some reason the charter we were on (an airline called Planet Air) miscalculated fuel and we had to stop in Lincoln, Nebraska to refuel. It was a freaking hot day, and they had to turn of the AC while refueling, so naturally, the cabin turned into an oven.

As we picked up speed to takeoff from Lincoln, condensation from the AC poured out of the overhead bins. Naturally, everyone on board thought it was smoke and freaked out. One kid ran down the aisle screaming "SMOKE" at the top of his lungs. The pilot then came onto the intercom and explained to everyone what was happening, and order was restored, but for about 3 seconds, I started to see my life flash before my eyes.
 

ruxCYtable

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I was flying on a small private plane from CR to Ames at night. About halfway there the instruments went out and the pilot was flying blind. Just as suddenly the instruments came back and the pilots realized they were accumulating ice on the wings. Near Ames we were descending through heavy cloud cover and the runway lights wouldn't come on. They came on at the last minute and we landed safely. Next morning I found out a small plane had crashed on approach at Des Moines due to...ice on the wings.

Other than that experience I'd have to say all my flying has been quite uneventful. About once a month I fly on an 8-passenger company plane and some of those rides can get a little "sporty" as the pilots like to say but nothing concerning.
 

chuckd4735

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Had a plane abort a landing probably 25 feet above the runway because of windshear. Lady behind me threw up all over the floor it was so rough.

Not really wild, but I was on a flight from MSP->DSM that left 2 hrs late, circled the DSM airport 6 times and returned to MSP. We landed at 2am, and then rented a car and drove to DSM. I had to work the next morning.


What the hell for?
 

cyrocksmypants

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Dec 29, 2008
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I was on a plane crash once. It was crazy. Crashed on this uninhabitable island. Really creepy. Only a handful of us survived. There was this super weird black smoke like monster that was always attacking us.
 

cowgirl836

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Meh, working in the aviation industry, I know that Air is the safest form of travel. Not worried about the crashing and dying as much as the turbulence and getting sick as a first time flyer.


if you like rollercoasters, then you'll be ok with turbulence. If you're like me, and hate rollercoasters, then turbulence means the white-knuckled grip of fear and trying to control your squeals of fear.



My worst plane story was a 6 hourish light to Edinburgh. Didn't get to sit by BFF and was sitting on the wing and couldn't hear through the earbuds for the movie/or try to sleep. The two "grown-ups" next to me arguing over how far back to lay their seat, someone behind me kicking my seat and complaining about some smell.............then on the last leg of the flight, the icky plane food, lack of sleep (we'd been up for over 30 hours at that point) caught up with me and I threw up as we were landing. I was three minutes from that plane being done moving. Almost made it.

And good thing I was already engaged cause I don't think the vomit/snot face impressed the very cute male South African nurse sitting next to me on that last flight.