1. I had excessive smoke in the cabin and cockpit over ocean. Flight Engineer told from the back he saw sparks and flames. Smoke elimination unsuccessful and cockpit vis deteriorating so we ditched. Helicopter stayed upright, egressed to liferaft without getting wet, paddled away with our helmets. Helicopter is flying again (had a second ditching since due to engine failure in hover).
2. Slinging sandbags during flooding in Manitoba, Canada I got the right main stuck in mud and got a glimpse of what dynamic rollover would look like. Very fast.
3. Less than 100 hours helo, I was solo at night unaided. Someone else using infield so I turned my circuit to the south, away from all cultural lighting. At the same time the first lightning bolt of a thunderstorm flashed in front of me. Safe enough distance, but the flash blinded me, nothing to see outside, and I had my cockpit lights dim enough that I could see nothing inside. Hey, it may not seem so scary now, but it freaked me out at the time.
Matthew.