Aeroplanes

[luv u long time]

ive been on lets say over 30 flights international and domestis around the world,and it wasnt untill 2 years ago on the way home from phuket with silkair when we hit an air pocket.Ive never experienced anything like that in my life and it was bloody terrifying. For that second or two i thought i was gone.
secondly, last year going from bangkok to koh samui with bangkok air one of those propella planes.i was already a bit scared of planes by then but this flight just as it was goin for the u turn to get ready to land the engins were just about cuttin out and stalling,the hostess locked herself in her seat, the whole plane was sh!tting them sevles. i asked the hostess if we were ok and she said with the most unconvicing tone y-y-yes whilst holding on tight to her seat.we swayed left to right, but we got there and i sworeto myself never again we got the fairy back to the mainland!!! has anyone ever experienced anything like that or am i just losin mi marbles. im leaving in 17 days and imexcited but scared of the flight!!!Help!!

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by luv u long time

ive been on lets say over 30 flights international and domestis around the world,and it wasnt untill 2 years ago on the way home from phuket with silkair when we hit an air pocket.Ive never experienced anything like that in my life and it was bloody terrifying. For that second or two i thought i was gone.
secondly, last year going from bangkok to koh samui with bangkok air one of those propella planes.i was already a bit scared of planes by then but this flight just as it was goin for the u turn to get ready to land the engins were just about cuttin out and stalling,the hostess locked herself in her seat, the whole plane was sh!tting them sevles. i asked the hostess if we were ok and she said with the most unconvicing tone y-y-yes whilst holding on tight to her seat.we swayed left to right, but we got there and i sworeto myself never again we got the fairy back to the mainland!!! has anyone ever experienced anything like that or am i just losin mi marbles. im leaving in 17 days and imexcited but scared of the flight!!!Help!!

During flights there can always happen something. The easiest stuff to handle is some turbulence. Nothing special. I had at least double your quantity of flight and even those on domestic flights in Russia and I will spare you those details. But as far as weather/atmosphere conditions are concerned the worst I had is landing in Montreal during a blizzard.

But just realize that flying is the safest way of transportation. You had 2 less nice experiences, so now it will be 3 times lucky! Just hop on the plane and relax. You're going to be fine.

[Coolhand]

My personal opinion? Go ahead and fly, be scared too if you want - you can start crying or whatever does it for you.

But don't not fly because your scared.

[IRISH JONNY]

had 2 big frights with singapore airlines while crossing over india..........
serious turbolence...it was so bad.the staff didnt serve dinner and there was talk of diverting to mombay..........

[Iltis]

i dont like flying myself...i'm usually pretty quiet during takeoff or during turbulence. i try to read a book and concentrate on that so i dont think too much about the flight. so far the turbulence hasnt been that bad. the worst weather is mostly over India...dont know why maybe it's the wind in that region or something...?

[ThaiLearner]

Its still safer to fly than to walk down the street

[steve w]

i love the whole flying experience ,i count the start of my holiday as my first beer on the plane to los!and with the entertainment systems they have goy on any decent airline now i am like a pig in...........err smelly muddy stuff.

[Filobedders]

The worst flight for me was from Hong Kong to Bangkok about 16 years ago. The start was uneventful until we reached Thailand and then thunder and lightening. The plane was bouncing around with turbulance and suddenly it dropped like it was falling out of the sky. Finally it stopped abruptly, some of the lockers opened and a few bags fell on people's heads, the cabin lights went off for a few seconds and came back on. By this time people were screaming, crying or just sat very silent. Cabin staff were strapped in their seats looking a little worried and tried to give a smile of reasurance while some of them quickly re-stowed the baggage.
Next the pilot came on the tannoy and told everyone that he was powering down one of the two engines but their was absolutly nothing to worry about - all quite routine

By this time I was convinced we were going to die, for the next half hour or so I clench my asre cheeks and hoped for the best.

When we finally landed everyone on the plane cheered and clapped including me.

The pilot appologised for the bumpy flight and technical fault and hoped we enjoyed our stay in Bangkok.
I more or less went straight to Patpong and got very, very drunk.

I had a fear of flying for 6 years after that........I'm ok now though

[IRISH JONNY]

Originally Posted by Filobedders

The worst flight for me was from Hong Kong to Bangkok about 16 years ago. The start was uneventful until we reached Thailand and then thunder and lightening. The plane was bouncing around with turbulance and suddenly it dropped like it was falling out of the sky. Finally it stopped abruptly, some of the lockers opened and a few bags fell on people's heads, the cabin lights went off for a few seconds and came back on. By this time people were screaming, crying or just sat very silent. Cabin staff were strapped in their seats looking a little worried and tried to give a smile of reasurance while some of them quickly re-stowed the baggage.
Next the pilot came on the tannoy and told everyone that he was powering down one of the two engines but their was absolutly nothing to worry about - all quite routine

By this time I was convinced we were going to die, for the next half hour or so I clench my asre cheeks and hoped for the best.

When we finally landed everyone on the plane cheered and clapped including me.

The pilot appologised for the bumpy flight and technical fault and hoped we enjoyed our stay in Bangkok.
I more or less went straight to Patpong and got very, very drunk.
I had a fear of flying for 6 years after that........I'm ok now though

EXCELLENT...........

[Mav]

Fu ck l'm gunna put this thread on the "Never Open Again List"

[MrDK]

It is extremely rare that turbulence does any damage to the plane, however, it is not so rare that passengers who are not strapped in are injured. On one flight the turbulence was extremely severe and several passengers were clearly frightened. The pilot came on the PA and assured the passengers that there was nothing to worry about as the amount of stress on the plane was only 10% of what it was designed for. I would hate to try, say, 50%

For the past 20 years I have taken well over 100 flights every year and shy crashing I think I have tried it all, including fire in the cockpit, missed runways, overshooting runways, defective landing gears, a landing so hard the plane could not taxi to the gate, near collisions, a wing touching the runway, loss of engine power, several emergency landings ... I still think flying is the best and safest form of transportation and there is never a time I worry about it.

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by MrDK

It is extremely rare that turbulence does any damage to the plane, however, it is not so rare that passengers who are not strapped in are injured. On one flight the turbulence was extremely severe and several passengers were clearly frightened. The pilot came on the PA and assured the passengers that there was nothing to worry about as the amount of stress on the plane was only 10% of what it was designed for. I would hate to try, say, 50%

For the past 20 years I have taken well over 100 flights every year and shy crashing I think I have tried it all, including fire in the cockpit, missed runways, overshooting runways, defective landing gears, a landing so hard the plane could not taxi to the gate, near collisions, a wing touching the runway, loss of engine power, several emergency landings ... I still think flying is the best and safest form of transportation and there is never a time I worry about it.

Well, about a month ago a KLM plane had to land in St. Petersburg after 7 or 8 people got injured due to heavy turbulence. So yes, it can be dangerous.

And MrDK... after all those adventures... you still like flying? Or only to LOS??? 5555555555.........

[MrDK]

Originally Posted by Nanook

And MrDK... after all those adventures... you still like flying? Or only to LOS??? 5555555555.........

150k mi so far this year ... and off to LOS in a few weeks.

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by MrDK

150k mi so far this year ... and off to LOS in a few weeks.

Jee, that is a lot. You are probably the record holder of all our BM's.

This year not too much for me. 2x to Udon Thani, 1x Poland and this coming Saturday I fly to Moscow for a week.

[IRISH JONNY]

Originally Posted by MrDK

It is extremely rare that turbulence does any damage to the plane, however, it is not so rare that passengers who are not strapped in are injured. On one flight the turbulence was extremely severe and several passengers were clearly frightened. The pilot came on the PA and assured the passengers that there was nothing to worry about as the amount of stress on the plane was only 10% of what it was designed for. I would hate to try, say, 50%

For the past 20 years I have taken well over 100 flights every year and shy crashing I think I have tried it all, including fire in the cockpit, missed runways, overshooting runways, defective landing gears, a landing so hard the plane could not taxi to the gate, near collisions, a wing touching the runway, loss of engine power, several emergency landings ... I still think flying is the best and safest form of transportation and there is never a time I worry about it.

remind me to never go on a plane with you lars...............555555555555...........

[ThaiLearner]

The time I worry would be when you are told to put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye then you know you're in the sh*t

[MrDK]

Originally Posted by IRISH JONNY

remind me to never go on a plane with you lars...............555555555555...........

I am still here ...

With that much flying there are bound to be stories to tell, some of them funnier than others (depending on view point).
On one flight in a small prop plane from Salt Lake City to Grand Junction we hit some pretty bad weather over the mountains. Prior to that point I was explaining something to a colleague sitting next to me. To illustrate my point I had drawn a graph which started as a flat line, then decayed to zero (subject not important). When we hit the turbulence my friend stopped listening to me even though I was still doing my illustration. When I realized that he was spending all his energy trying to hold up the plane by the arm rests, I started to draw little airplanes on the graph, including a bunch on the ground where the graph reached the x-axis. At a moment he looked over and saw my artwork and just yelled ... "Will you fvcking stop that". I think he was about to puke anyway.

[Spector]

Not really a bad flight story, but more like I didn’t get on the plane and it crashed and killed everyone. It was September 12, 2001 ( day trip from Cozumel to Chichen Itza) We were on a cruise ship and arrived in Cozumel for the day. It was between 9-11 so it really didn’t make the news. My wife woke up not feeling well and we cancelled the trip that morning. The plane crashed returning back to Cozumel and 16 people died.
So does that mean I’m on borrowed time?

[dawsey]

Had one or two turbulent flights over the years with lockers opening and that plummeting feeling in the guts
The worst one was this April returning from Phuket to BKK in a huge thunderstorm with Air Asia. Not saying it was dangerous or anything, but during the flight, the whole cabin went brilliant white inside for a few seconds and dropped.I don't know if it was a direct lightening strike, but it was too close for my liking.
Not a nice feeling, but overall, flying doesn't bother me, just the boredom of long haul in cramped cattle class.

[cybernator_uk]

When i lived in (gulp) Luton, where EasyJet are based, it was convienet to fly with them to places like Amsterdam or wherever.

One time i was flying home from Barcelona, and had decided to take a late night flight. I managed to sleep all the way, even before the plane had taken off, until landing. The plane landed with such a thud, that it woke me up and most people at least made a funny noise, quite a few screamed and cried.

From that point on i stoped using EasyJet, and after moving to Germany decided that the Frankfurt Hahn - London Stansted route was a good option, as it is reletivley cheap. Well this was until ermmmmm Christmas i think. I basically think of RyanAir pilots as cowboys with some crazy landings. However when we landed it felt like the plane was going to tip over. After that i just decided that Lufthansa are the airline for me. I know people slag them off, but to be honest I have used them many times, and this trip to LOS was the best flight i have ever had. Didn't even feel the front wheel touch the runway.

Nothing really horific, but i suppose these 2 instances have put me off budget airlines.

[MrDK]

It is not so uncommon for a plane to be in the path of lightening. I have tried it a couple of times.

Here is a link that can provide some more details: Lightning Technologies

It is estimated that on average, each airplane in the U.S. commercial fleet is struck slightly more than once per year.

[Werwolf]

The worst thing was on a flight in Peru.
We did flight nearly a hour. Then one of the engines of the plane was out of action.
The captain did only say that they have some problem and have to flight back to the airport which we started.
On the landing ground where a lot of fire brigades and fireman. After we did stop we had to go very fast out of the plane.

Later some passenger told that the engine had some “fume”. I didn’t realise this.
After 3 hours we got another plane and start once more. Perhaps you can imagine what the “feeling” was on that flight……