My first solo.
Trained at a very busy airfield with sometimes well over 10 jets, helicopters, twins and singles in the circuit at the same time. Because it was so congested, radio calls tended to get abbreviated, often to the point that a "read back" would be the last two letters of the registration.
Sent off on my own to do a lap round the field and in. Was going fine up to the point I was cleared to land on short finals (the tower knew I was a first solo), then apparently not long before crossing the threshold I was told to go-around as they wanted to cross traffic from one side of the airfield to the other, which required a short backtrack as the taxiways were not aligned. From what I’m told, I’d replied with the two-letter callsign but from inside I don’t remember as by then I was fixated on the landing. The guy pulled out onto the runway in an ATP without looking, at the same time I touched down about 200m away.
All I remember is seeing prop discs getting rapidly larger in the window and thinking I couldn’t stop in time, then firewalling the throttle, yanking the PA28 back into the air and managing to miss the oncoming aircraft. I flew a rather wobbly circuit then shut the aircraft down on the pan, thinking that a career in aviation was probably not for me!
I was met on the way back to the crew room by the DCFI, ex-mil, who was striding purposely on an intercept course. As he got closer, his facial expression softened and by the time we got close he looked rather concerned. “Would you like a cup of tea?” I think were his first words. Later he told me that he had never seen anyone so bloodless and with pupils dilated to the extent that mine were. An hour later I was getting a bit of delayed shock and had to leave my car at the airfield and get a lift home. The next day full read backs were in force...
That was 30+ years ago and here I am in the LHS of a 777, so I proved myself wrong in one way.