What’s been your worst flying experience ?

[novocastrian]

Originally Posted by boarder4life

Manchester to Paris

20 mins into the flight a man gets up in front of us looking at the plane door. He was concentrating for a good 2-3 mins.

Thinking he was waiting to use the toilet and didn’t pay attention until he started pulling and yanking at the door to open it. Cabin crew tried stopping him he pushed them to on side and kept trying. Took 3 men to wrestle him to the ground when he was restrained.

Landed back in Manchester where you could imagine police arrested him. Some people were so distressed they wouldn’t get on the plane. One of the passengers I know on the plane has never stepped foot on one again because of it

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of little consolation but its impossible to open a door mid flight the door opens out first and the cabin air pressure keeps it firmly shut & they are mechanically locked by the pilot anyway hence 'doors to manual' when you land so the stewards can then open them

[Cloverlady]

Just after take off from JFK in 2004, so not too long after 9/11, we were climbing and all of a sudden there was this horrendous bang and we dropped like a stone for what felt like forever.

Everyone screamed, and I mean SCREAMED, looking about people were crossing themselves and had gone into the brace position.

Then casually, in a very laid back tone the pilot came on and said 'Sorry about that, we hit the wake of an aircraft in front of us'
Couldn't have sounded more relaxed if he'd tried!

[WhereIBelong]

where do I start...

Smoke in the cabin on the runway - Birmingham - had to use the inflatable chute - never been so scared in my life, truly thought I was going to die - not helped by grown men pushing through the aisles. Turned out to be a minor problem in the air system. Some people cracked ribs etc!

Landing sideways in Orkney. There was a massive gust just as we came down - god knows how the pilot got the thing on the ground, but he did.

Engine "coughing" half way across the Atlantic - not a place you want to be thinking in any way about engine failure.

Passenger 2 rows in front of me had a heart attack (fatal) on the way back from Florida (1999)

2016 - turbulence as we made it over the other side of the Atlantic - at least 7 children were very, very sick - all you could hear was a continual call from all over the plane of "can we have something to clean this up" followed by the smell of vomit for 1.5 hours.

Not particularly lucky on flights...

[Cloverlady]

Originally Posted by WhereIBelong

where do I start...

Smoke in the cabin on the runway - Birmingham - had to use the inflatable chute - never been so scared in my life, truly thought I was going to die - not helped by grown men pushing through the aisles. Turned out to be a minor problem in the air system. Some people cracked ribs etc!

Landing sideways in Orkney. There was a massive gust just as we came down - god knows how the pilot got the thing on the ground, but he did.

Engine "coughing" half way across the Atlantic - not a place you want to be thinking in any way about engine failure.

Passenger 2 rows in front of me had a heart attack (fatal) on the way back from Florida (1999)

2016 - turbulence as we made it over the other side of the Atlantic - at least 7 children were very, very sick - all you could hear was a continual call from all over the plane of "can we have something to clean this up" followed by the smell of vomit for 1.5 hours.

Not particularly lucky on flights...

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Oh my gosh. All your examples are but for some reason this one =

I just KNOW this will cross my mind next time I'm mid way across the Atlantic!

[WhereIBelong]

Originally Posted by Cloverlady

Oh my gosh. All your examples are but for some reason this one =

I just KNOW this will cross my mind next time I'm mid way across the Atlantic!

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sorry -in my defence, every single bad luck flight turned out well in the end... and the pilot did not sound in any way worried at all.

[ROBBOTOO]

2012. Virgin flight, Gatwick to Orlando. About 20 mins into flight captain called the crew to the front. 5 mins later he informed us there was an indication of a slight problem and we were returning to Gatwick. Landed very fast and hard. Lights and engines went out while still on the runway. All sat in quiet and darkness for about 5 mins. Then just heard “evacuate, evacuate”. Jumped down the chutes and the crew were shouting at passengers to “run, run”! Passengers all over the airfield eventually gathered up and put on buses back to the terminal. Spent hours back at a gate being repatriated before being bused to the Hilton for the night. Flew the next day, although some were injured from jumping down the chutes and couldnt, some just wouldn’t.

Turns out it was a faulty fire in the hold warning that kept going off.

The one thing that made me laugh is that one Virgin’s Fear of Flying people was made available from arrival at the hotel. He was still around while boarding the flight the following day. When I asked him what his plan was for keeping people calm during the flight, he said he wasn’t getting on board!

[Cloverlady]

Originally Posted by ROBBOTOO

2012. Virgin flight, Gatwick to Orlando. About 20 mins into flight captain called the crew to the front. 5 mins later he informed us there was an indication of a slight problem and we were returning to Gatwick. Landed very fast and hard. Lights and engines went out while still on the runway. All sat in quiet and darkness for about 5 mins. Then just heard “evacuate, evacuate”. Jumped down the chutes and the crew were shouting at passengers to “run, run”! Passengers all over the airfield eventually gathered up and put on buses back to the terminal. Spent hours back at a gate being repatriated before being bused to the Hilton for the night. Flew the next day, although some were injured from jumping down the chutes and couldnt, some just wouldn’t.

Turns out it was a faulty fire in the hold warning that kept going off.

The one thing that made me laugh is that one Virgin’s Fear of Flying people was made available from arrival at the hotel. He was still around while boarding the flight the following day. When I asked him what his plan was for keeping people calm during the flight, he said he wasn’t getting on board!

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Oh I remember that day! (Is that when it was, 2012? Seems like 2 minutes ago...)
I remember our flight had just set off ahead of you - I remember hearing about it and I knew you were on that plane so I was worried about you!

[Rac20]

Flying solo back from NZ to Manchester via Brisbane and Dubai. It had been a traumatic trip anyway as I’d gone to see my dad who was terminally ill and I’d had to leave my husband and two children at home. The turbulence from Brisbane to Dubai was the worst I’ve ever experienced and even when the worst was over, we still bumped along for the entire journey. I’ve never wanted to get off a plane as quick ever! Thankfully, the flight from Dubai was uneventful. When is finally landed, the fire alarm went off between customs and the exit. I couldn’t go back to baggage claim and couldn’t go forward out of the building as they stopped us. Had to wait whilst the airport was evacuated and re-opened knowing that my gorgeous babies were on the other side waiting for me.

[MickyC]

Originally Posted by WhereIBelong

where do I start...

Smoke in the cabin on the runway - Birmingham - had to use the inflatable chute - never been so scared in my life, truly thought I was going to die - not helped by grown men pushing through the aisles. Turned out to be a minor problem in the air system. Some people cracked ribs etc!

Landing sideways in Orkney. There was a massive gust just as we came down - god knows how the pilot got the thing on the ground, but he did.

Engine "coughing" half way across the Atlantic - not a place you want to be thinking in any way about engine failure.

Passenger 2 rows in front of me had a heart attack (fatal) on the way back from Florida (1999)

2016 - turbulence as we made it over the other side of the Atlantic - at least 7 children were very, very sick - all you could hear was a continual call from all over the plane of "can we have something to clean this up" followed by the smell of vomit for 1.5 hours.

Not particularly lucky on flights...

See more...

In the nicest possible way, I hope I’m never on the same flight as you 😂😂

[Kellea]

Washington to Heathrow August 2013! The flight attendants were strapped in for most of the flight.the plane was moving from side to side 90degrees each way. The turbulence was terrifying. On the plus side its made me realise just how much turbulence a plane can take and im not so scared about turbulence on flights anymore.