My scariest was on a BA 747 from Hong Kong to London. We were warned in the preflight announcement that we might experience some turbulence after take-off. About 45 minutes into the flight, during drinks service, the aircraft started to shake a little. A couple of minutes later I was confronted with the contents of my gin and tonic glass floating in front of my face, before it rapidly descended into my lap. The turbulence became quite violent and the drinks service suspended with the crew taking their seats. At this point, looking at the moving map, we were taking a northerly heading, almost following the eastern coast of China. As an experienced passenger I wasn't alarmed, just uncomfortable. The captain announced that we were climbing as high as we could and reported that a Virgin Atlantic 747 was a couple of thousand feet below and getting the worst of it. The shaking was incredible, accompanied by severe drops and rises. The thing I was most scared about was the constant screaming from fellow passengers. Every movement induced a cacophony of shrieking from everyone around me. It lasted for about six hours. On arrival at Heathrow, exhausted and without having been served dinner, I overheard a cabin crew member telling a passenger it had been routine and he had had many flights like that. On arrival at the gate the captain apologised for the turbulence and said that in his 31 years as a pilot, he had never experienced anything so violent.
Last edited by wub; 26th Dec 2020 at 15:31.