Plenty of things to learn, actually, that's why I'm on PPRuNe. I've just been lucky... there but for the grace of God do I go, as the saying goes. :)

​​​​​Edit: The sky has been quite kind to me, so far. On the other hand the ground has been terrible to me!

I’ll share one of someone else’s stories - Bee Beamont no less, may he Rest In Peace.

In his later years Bee was employed by BAC as a flight ops director when they received a complaint from a customer regarding faulty “fire control systems” on some new Strikemasters (edit - can anyone enlighten me as to what exactly a Strikemaster FCS consists of apart from an optical gunsight ?). Bee flew out in person and went on a training mission with the foreign customer’s chief instructor who he said was a rather abrasive character. The flight out to the range was carried out at ultra low level across open desert, and the altitude could have been measured with a yardstick, the Strikemaster was also running at full chat. Bee stated that the pilot had to lift alternate wings to avoid hitting the sand dunes which they were clearing by 2 or 3 feet at most, he went on to say that in spite of having been shot at in combat this single flight was the only time in his entire flying career that he was ever genuinely terrified.

I think the only time I've been particularly worried in an aircraft was on a short flight between Waukegan and Palwaukee in Illinois - lightning strikes to the side of us, lightning strikes to the front of us, think I would have preferred a) not to have launched or b) returned to Waukegan, just behind us, and made inroads into their coffee pot. My aerial chauffeur was keen to press on however and we made it safely - of course - and tied the C172 down with the help of the line boy just before the storm front hit. Palwaukee's coffee was just as good as Waukegan's and we watched the rain lashing down, wind tormenting the trees and numerous lightning strikes for an hour or so before it all cleared for a beautifully sunny smooth flight down the Chicago lake shore - we should have landed at Meigs while it was still there!

PA, … nothing to tell … - the last flight, because if the next one gets you, you cannot retell.

TR, … nothing to learn … - again the last flight, because without learning the next one is more likely to get you.

Lots of war stories above, but few lessons learnt.

Scariest ever ? Mine was my first. saved up for ages, off to Shoreham , told them I wanted to be a pilot, age -17. . Wonderful chap called Toon Ghose strapped me in to a Bolkow Junior and off we went on what he called an "aptitude and experience flight". Watched him pump the rudder pedal from full left to full right and yet we remained straight. Off the grass field & headed off to Brighton Pier (just like the snowman cartoon) but on the way back, he asked "howz your tummy-?". I managed a big smile, loving all of it & he said"Ok, i'll show you a loop"........ ......Aaaaaaaagh !......... Awful. He adopted a wierd sort of grin and said.."Good, I'll show you a spin"...........Aaaaaaaaaagh.......Awful. Staggered off home on the South coast bus and resolved to ammend my application to the RAF for Navigator preference. Failed the Nav aptitude battery but was offered entry for pilot. Aaaaaaagh, probably have to do aeros ! Settled for Hamble instead.

I was off loading pax bags from the belly pod of Cessna Caravan in Medan, Indonesia after bringing the members of NGO and Red Cross/ Red Crescent from Banda Ache. Bell 412 chartered by Singapore Red Cross was taxiing right behind of us over the grass field for departure, not over the taxiway. Maybe it was not unusual procedure in Medan shortly after the Boxing Day Tsunami. Anyhow, as I continued to help to get their bags, I saw the twin turbine engine helicopter slowing nearing to the ground in my peripheral vision and the clouds of dust quickly started thickening and covering the area, the shape of B412 was almost blurred. It came to me so suddenly that I didn't even have time to get scared but the image of sharp edged pieces of the broken chopper blades shooting toward us in next second became so clear in my mind and at the same time, I remember thinking to myself it would be so sad to see those young people, who came from many countries all the way to Indonesia to help the tsunami stricken villages and its people, dying for no particular reason. It is true an event like this looks like slow motion scene from a movie. I watched the 4 blades still rotating after the chopper rested in the ditch in crooked way, leaving its tip only few inches above the ground. The crew of downed helicopter staggered out of the cockpit while the air was still filled with grass and dust. Some of my passengers shifted their interest from their bags and started taking photos. Didn't seem to realize their lives were spared...

Turbulence is always disconcerting if fortunately rare. It was particularly bad coming into Heathrow one day as the Skip was rapidly on the p.a. "As you will see we've been through some turbulence, nothing too serious". Reassured this SLF.

Not really scary but I remember missing an approach at Kai Tak. The crew were too far busy for a p.a. announcement (believe me it makes a difference) & we landed successfully in the opposite direction a few minutes layer but I had visions of ending up in Kaohsiung.

Also its off putting seeing a plane pass nearby at the same level. Actually we wern't, Both were in the stack at different levels and banking, almost you could say an optical illusion, but I wasn't thinking that at the time.

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.

Out over the Atlantic paralleling the Eastern Seaboard of the US at night in clear conditions with only a light wind from the West we were surprised to hear the aircraft a few minutes in front of us declare that they were experiencing "extreme turbulence". 2000ft below we were in smooth air. I have to confess that I looked across at the new FO and muttered the ICAO terms "light, moderate and severe" under my breath whilst gently "tutting".

Seconds later we hit the worst turbulence that I have experienced in 41 years of flying. The aircraft was shaking so violently that it was almost impossible to read the instruments. The airspeed fluctuated wildly and the overspeed clackers were immediately followed by the stall warning stick shaker. The autopilot's altitude hold mode failed to maintain height and we got altitude warnings of plus or minus 300 feet. The EICAS (warning) screen filled with red and amber warnings which appeared and disappeared rapidly. I began to wonder about the structure of the aircraft. Just how much punishment could the tail empennage take?
I called New York and confirmed the other aircraft's "extreme" report. This was worse than severe. I recommended they reroute any aircraft planning on passing through the area. At the same time I sent an ACARS message to operations suggesting a later flight took another route. I also requested that the engineers carry out a turbulence check on the aircraft on arrival. Ops came back a few minutes later and said New York had closed the airspace.

On arrival back at base we were met by an engineer. He sat on the jumpseat and went through the reports in the CMC (central maintenance computer). Shortly after that he picked up his handset and called his supervisor saying "nothing generated in the CMC, I am coming back to the crewroom". On his way out he stopped in the galley and chatting to the galley girl asked if there were any left over bacon butties . "Fill your boots" was her response "take whatever you want. That was my last flight!" She then told him that the turbulence had terrified her and that she was never going to fly again. "Err boss, I think we are going to need a turbulence check on this aircraft...".

January 2020 I’m in the back of an unarmed Chinook flying from Hamid Kharzi Military Airport (just at the back of the civilian one) In Kabul, Afghanistan to somewhere I won’t name. I was wearing body armour, Kevlar hat and was strapped in next to a window. The flight was crewed by grizzled, battle hardened, ex US Air Force guys who knew what they were doing, the Chinook didn’t have a tail gate, just a load net, the wheels were kept down in flight and the change overs were done with the rotors running. I was in with a bunch of ‘interesting’ people, many toting some serious firepower. The flight wasn’t that long but going over Kabul at 250ft really focusses the mind. The trip back involved a stop at another base to drop off a dozen or so SF guys en route to Hamid Kharzi. I have some great photo’s of me in the back of the Chinook. Won’t forget that ride in a hurry!

Slower than the speed of sound....
 

It's all true. (written some time ago)I want to tell you now about a time I did have a bad experience. Potentially a very bad experience. But the truth is that without the use of alcohol or strong drugs, it was so well handled that I did not really care. Here’s how it happened.


It was a beautiful sunny day and I was lucky enough to be heading on a business trip to New York on Concorde, that most amazing of all flying machines. It was not my first trip on the bird but I was still excited. It was a beautiful sunny day as we took off towards the west. The only way I can describe take-off is that it was a bit like hurtling up stairs in a rocket. Concorde was not quiet, it was not particularly luxurious, but boy was it fast. I had already done an hour in our Heathrow office that morning, we took off at 10:30 and by 10:00 I was expecting to be in the New York office. Bizarre!


We were only a few minutes into the flight when our captain’s voice came over the intercom. After the usual pleasantries he told us in that way that only the British can that there was a spot of bother. I forget the exact technical details but I think it was something to do with the rudder. Most of the passengers, myself included, probably did not even realise that Concorde had such a thing. Anyway, nothing to worry about we were reassured, and here was what was going to happen. “I am sorry for the inconvenience but I am afraid we will have to return to Heathrow.” came the soothing tones. “That won’t take long, and I have already radioed ahead so a replacement Concorde will be waiting for you as soon as we land.”

A different planet from ‘rail replacement buses!’ British Airways had seven Concordes, so luckily they always had a spare one hanging around somewhere, as you do.



“So the only tiny problem,” continued the voice of God (or so it seemed), “is that as we have only just taken off we have too much fuel onboard and the plane is too heavy to land.” Too heavy to land? Oh no, I thought, is this going to be the old joke about the Englishman the Irishman and the Scotsman arguing about who is going to be thrown off first? Luckily not. “What I am going to do is go out of the Bristol channel, dump most of the fuel, turn around and then fly back to Heathrow.”



Dump most of the fuel? Oh no! How much was ‘most’? I hoped he had a little gauge like I did on my car with a read out of ‘miles remaining’. What if he threw away too much? Would we have to crash land in Swindon? How many miles was it anyway from Bristol to London? A hundred? I seemed to remember reading somewhere that Concorde averaged 5 gpm. Yes, 5 gallons per mile…so that was an awful of petrol he had better not dump on the poor fish in the Channel.



The flight back to Heathrow was magical, among the most memorable I have ever taken. The previous day we had actually been visiting friends in Bath so as we returned to London following the line of the M4 motorway flying at about only 10,000 feet I could re-trace the journey I had taken only yesterday. But this time it was like what I imagine it would be like to travel in a rocket-propelled hot air balloon. Oh look down there, that’s the service station we didn’t stop at! Is that a cow? Are we nearly there yet? Yes, as soon as we turned around we were nearly there, you stupid boy! You are never not ‘nearly there’ on Concorde.



And so, only 10 minutes later, to the skies above Windsor. “Now,” said our captain, “you may not know it, but these poor chaps at Heathrow don’t get much chance to practice the old emergency drill stuff. So what I have agreed with them is that they can use our landing this morning for a jolly good practice. So when we land, don’t be alarmed, but what you are going to see is these boys and girls racing alongside us in their fire engines and ambulances to see if they still remember the training. OK, now down we go.” He didn’t quite let out a ‘wheeeeeee!’ but he might have done.


Relaxed? You bet we were. 99 people all smiling, even although they had just given back their empty champagne glasses. And sure enough as we hit the tarmac with a bit of a bump mind you, it was like the Fisher Price airport out there with all the yellow and red vehicles trundling in parallel trying to keep up with us.



We came to a stop, not at the terminal, but somewhere in the outer reaches of the airfield. Why? Did they really think the plane might explode? (Actually, yes, but the trick is no one bothered to tell us that bit.) So we promptly deplaned and were escorted onto a bus. That was the funniest part. 99 people, 98 of whom had paid thousands of pound to rocket off to New York – I was on an airline ‘duty travel’ fare - and here they were boarding a bus! Not something to shout about back on the cocktail circuit in St George’s Hill.



And so that, dear reader, was my most frightening emergency landing. Thanks to the way it was handled I have not been so scared since the time I dropped a pillow on my foot.



The next day when I was already back in London I saw the newspaper front page headline shrieking “M25 closed as Concorde makes emergency landing!”. Too late to be frightened now.

My most scary flight
 

I had made a habit of frequently driving out to the airfield with pax in the car, and putting them in the back of a 172 for an air tour of downtown Toronto, usually with a couple of orbits of the CN Tower to watch the people eating in the revolving restaurant. This time was supposed to be the same. The flight was usually less than an hour, so no problem was expected getting back before my lack of the five take-offs and landings at night would have made carrying pax illegal. That is, until I looked at the TAF, which said told OCNL SCTD TRS for my time aloft. which was to be just before civil twilight.

My reaction was a proper one, just as I had been taught. Never fly beyond your capabilities and experience. So from the home where my pax were staying, I told the man waiting for me that we were not going due WX. However, as a meteorologist from Copenhagen Airport, he wanted to speak to the local met man, so we called them. After exchanging pleasantries and comments in the lingua franca of those who observe the clouds, we hung up and I spoke directly to my friend.

Surprisingly, he gave me his professional opinion that it would be safe to fly!

Who was I to argue? So I took him and a couple of lasses out to the airport.

The out-bound trip was a complete success. We circled the CN Tower twice and headed back towards Toronto International's airspace. I called their terminal controller from South of Humber Bay, only to be told that my destination was just now under TRS.

"What are your intentions?" he asked.

Obviously the best choice was to turn back to Toronto Island, which I had just passed.
"Toronto Island is now reporting TRS coming in off the lake!"
I looked at the alternatives. While I was considering Burlington Air park, the controller came back to me.

"It looks like there are two cells, ten miles apart, one each side of the route to Brampton. I can get you between them if you like."
I had originally requested to fly up runway 33 at 2k, since they were landing East-west, but they had denied me that route, and vectored me way out way West of Pearson, beneath the departure profile. That was when I started to follow vectors to go between the two T cells.

Just as I was thinking of being home in a few minutes, I experienced what i now understand what people mean by 'all hell breaking loose'. The plane started to climb, and I had to push the nose down to keep at altitude. Then the plane started shaking so badly that I felt it would break apart. I knew I had to do a 180, but in a control zone? I rolled the plane left to a rate 1 turn and tried to tell ATC what I was doing. But the plane was shaking so badly that I could not get the air into my lungs to speak, and my words seemed to sound like a bunch of incoherent broken syllables.

The controller acknowledged my turn, and gave me vectors BACK OUT OVER THE LAKE! Great! I thought, they know I am going to break up and don't want me falling on the expensive houses below!

You know that you are in trouble when an older, more experienced voice comes over the R/T from ATC!

He asked me my situation, and how much fuel I had, and I explained about the turbulence. He gave me more vectors to circle South of land while they figured out a solution.

Eventually he told me the TRS over Brampton had dissipated, and vectored me to the button of 33 at Pearson, with instructions to fly up it. After that, it was vectors to Brampton and the smoothest straight-in airline landing I have ever done, since the airport was closed, the runway wet and beautifully highlighted by the reflection of (thankfully distant) clouds.

My passenger said I was a damn good pilot, and that I should be flying the big jets. That was when it dawned on me, his judgement to fly was based on transport aircraft criteria - way too much for a little 172! I never listened to anybody else's judgement whether it was safe to fly after that!

Flying from Wellington (NZ) to Nelson in a Bandit, I have seat 1B. The curtain between me and the cockpit is open.
There is a brisk - by Wellington standards, most others would call it a gale - south-easterly blowing.
After a routine but short take off roll, we go along nicely until we come out of the lee of Moa Point. The aircraft does roller-coaster imitations, to the extent that there are some small screams from the back rows. I guess the motion may have been more vigorous there. I thought it was a bit sporty, but it's 'Windy Wellington' after all.

A minute or two later, P1 says to P2 "****, I thought we were a goner there", presumably not realising I could hear him quite clearly.
I had a death grip on the armrest all the way to Nelson

Alternatively.
DC-10 from Malaga to UK. The cabin crew at the rear of the plane announce that they are having trouble closing the door.

Business class LHR to CPH on SAS MD-80.
Very camp steward serving lunch. After food I ordered a brandy which was served just as we hit some turbulence and it ended up in my lap. Camp steward wanted to mop my nether regions.
Now that's scary!

Well, I could tell you sbout the time I took a 737 to about 80 degrees of bank making an emergency break at FL 330 to avoid a RAM B 727 which had been cleared through my level on another frequency on the French/Spanish border.

Just passing the VOR. I looked up from moving the heading cursor to change course, to see this 727 coming straight at me. Scary, you bet, and that was before TCAS ! Too. B.........close., the few seconds waiting for the bang were interminable !

As a long term passenger, I can re call two, though on the first I was very young, and only remember bits, but my parents filled in the other bits I had forgotten. The second I was older, and travelling with my Dad returning to Europe from Chile via Disney Land as a treat, rather than my normal route with BCAL via BA, Rio, etc to school in the UK.

The first incident was in the early 60,s flying from Rome back to UK and involved an evening take off in a prop which I think would have been a Vanguard, the airline was BEA, and I think Flight BE193 from Malta to London via Rome on a Sat. I can not remember and both my parents are dead, but did some checking on old time tables today (in Tier 3 and its pouring down !) and I think this would be it, as we arrived back at LHR in the early hours. There was a large Thunderstorm to the West of Rome moving East and my father thought the flight maybe delayed as a result. However we were boarded, and engines started and we taxied out, but noted that a Swiss and Air France flights had returned to the gate, however we continued, and lined up for take off. We waited for some time, and then set off. I had a window seat, and commented to my father about the "pretty sparks" coming off the wing (St Elmo's fire) which gradually covered the whole wing as we climbed, as the plane bucketed and reared through the sky, with a number of screams, and the smell of vomit coming around the cabin, and visibly onto peoples clothes. It appeared to last for at least an hour, before some sort of smoothness returned, and engine had been feathered. On the flight my mother helped some of the passengers and crew with some injuries sustained, as she was a nurse, and even helped subsequently hand out medicinal Brandy, and light food for those who felt like it. During all this there was no word from the flight deck, until about 2hrs into the flight when the captain came on, who my father thought was called Biggleswade . He apologized for the "lively departure" but then went to say it "was not as bad as flying over Berlin in the winter 43/44 " and that was it ! That was the last we heard from him until we landed. My mother subsequently received a Postal Order and letter for £5 from the airline for her help, and service post looking after people.

The second incident involved CAT over the US in an Air France 707 which left numerous people injured, and a trashed interior, with flying CC and food carts and passengers, which lasted for about 5 min, but was a bit like flying in the NASA Vomit Comet at the time. The pilot declined to divert, and continued to Paris, where we were met by numerous ambulances, as there had been considerable broken bones. I always keep my seat belt on ever since, (though the 380 Bar on EK does negate that :E) and have stayed away from Air France ever since as a result.

The interesting point, is that I have flown many thousands probably millions of miles since, in many 3rd world countries, with less well known carriers, as well as lots of LH flying, and yet these are the two incidents which caused me most concern, though my father said that in the first I was quite excited with the lightening and sudden drops, but probably too young to appreciate the danger. The second I could appreciate the danger, and see what was happening (as I was about 9 years old) but had a faith in the A/C (707) as that had become my chariot on the BCAL route from Santiago back and forth to school in UK, and I just could not believe it could crash. This flew in the face of the statistics of the time, as numerous ones were doing exactly that, including a large number of Air France ones !. But the real point is how safe flying actually is now by comparison with those times, when relatively few people flew, but the accident rate was quite high. I know my Mum was always concerned (she told me later) when packing me back off to school, as I was an only child, (my older brother had died just after being born), but she never showed it at the airport.

Happy landings to all in the coming year
Cheers
Mr Mac

The first rule of Fright club ?

This wasn't scary for the crew in a 727 departing STX at night with rainshowers in the area. I was the FE. Climbing thru 2 or 3 thousand with nothing on the analogue radar showing a need to deviate we get a ding from the FAs and Captain tells me to check with them. FA tells me "what was that?" I ask what she means as we have no indications or sounds up front. She says that a bolt of lightning hit one wingtip, came in through a window and flashed up and down the aisle, went out the other side window and hit the other wingtip. I open the cockpit door to a dark cabin with only white eyeballs visible like you might see in a cartoon. They check and nobody injured, no damage in cabin and we have no indications up front and press on. Post flight we find both wingtip tail lights melted.

Some 20 years ago, as SLF, I landed in Copenhagen with a colleague , to transfer by road for a single engine light plane flight to an airfield in West Denmark. Car journey was in torrential rain, and at the domestic airport were greet by the light aircraft pilot to say that we would be delayed for several hours.

We retired to the bar, but some 30 mins later he re-appeared to say that he thought that the front would soon pass over, and we could get going. Being trusting types, we walked out to the aircraft leaning against the wind and rain, then took off with hail hitting the windscreen, straight into cloud.

It was very bumpy indeed at 3000 feet, going up and down as if in an elevator, but the pilot seemed calm and confident, He then began a conversation with ATC, and requesting permission to descend.. At that moment a tree top passed the left wingtip. It seems that he may have had to ask for retrospective permission, and we were lucky that Denmark is not a very hilly country. The pilot then dodged trees at the base of the cloud for some time, until, as forecast, we passed through the front into crystal clear still air. We were VERY glad to land.

I've managed to avoid anything scary, except at the start. My CPL practice qualifying cross country, EGHR to EGTE to EGBO and back. Made it as far as checking in with Solent for a transit of EGHI zone. Got a deconfliction service from them and was settling into the leg and a pair of wings appeared either side of the centre screen bar. (PA28). Froze for a second then fortunately pushed down to go under a Navajo who had flown right through the zone without speaking to them! Seriously just a little overcome with adrenaline overload for the next few minutes. He'd just jumped up on their radar and controller was quite apologetic.

I learned a valuable lesson that day about keeping an eye out the front window! It's always the buggers that will hit you are the ones that don't move in your vision too. I bet he had no idea how close we came either. No ident from him and no Mode C either so chances of a result through filing were minimal.

Never come anywhere near that close to dying since. And I ride a motorcycle.....

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.

Vietnam, day off, operations calls and asks if I could take one of our Hueys down to Can Tho to pick up some spare parts, being an hour hog why not.

Taxiing for departure at Can Tho to return home to Dong Tam see a King Air (U-21) taxiing as well, him going to Saigon.

Settled in the cruise at exactly 2,000 on a cloudless beautiful day the cockpit is briefly darkened as the King Air sails overhead with seemingly only the thickness of a layer of paint separation. Being pressurised I expected him to be much higher. Always wondered what saved us both, sloppy flying on his part :p in not being at exactly 2,000, or inherent altimeter error. Tribulations of VFR in uncontrolled airspace.

Hi Megan,
There was a similar incident, involving airplanes, written about in "Fate is A Hunter" by EK Gann...you may know that book already but what you describe seems like it belongs in that book :\

Two Nimrods tracking the passage of a south-bound Russian Navy fleet well out off the West coast of the UK, us up at medium level monitoring wireless transmissions and under-water noises and the other one down at low level with a group of journalists on board taking photographs. Both of the pilots who I was with were very experienced Nimrod captains. The captain of the low level crew was O/c Operations Wing. There was also a U.S Navy P3 operating in the area.

When the U.S. P3 closed the fleet the captain of the lower Nimrod suggested that we dropped down to their level and formated on the P3 so that the camera team could get some snaps of close NATO co-operation and the P3 captain agreed provided he got some copies of the photos.

My flight engineer self preservation antennae went immediately to full alert as we closed into a position astern and to starboard of the P3. Unplanned, unbriefed, unpractised close formation at 800 feet with two dis-similar aircraft types! But apart from suggesting that we started up the two engines that we’d shut down for the loiter I just concentrated on my own panel on the principle that if a system failed it would fail at the time when it would cause maximum problems, and the two very competent pilots could get on with doing their job.

We’d completed one run down the side of the Russians with the P3 between us and the fleet and in clear view from the captain’s seat and had rolled into a port turn across the Russkies’ sterns in order run up their other side with the other Nimrod fairly close on our starboard side happily snapping away when the captain called out “Speed”. The P3 had lost a bit of airspeed during the turn and the Nimrod’s controls were beginning to feel a little sloppy, but the co-pilot seemed to be away in a little world of his own and when the captain called “Speed” again I turned my seat forwards and slid to where I could see an ASI. As I moved I saw the captain look down and simultaneously the P3 start to roll out of his turn and close us rapidly. I remember changing my shout from “Look out!” to “Look Up!” And the captain stuffed the nose down as the underside of P3’s tail slid past just above our cockpit windows.

There wasn’t a lot of room downwards for an escape manoeuvre so we broke formation and slid out sideways into a quiet area before climbing back up to our loitering height, taking a few deep breaths, and getting on with our proper job.

We all learned about flying from that.

Night landing at Guam in the Western Pacific region in a 737-200. Two parallel runways about 300 metres apart. 6L was 10,000 ft in length with ILS. 6R 8000 ft no aids no VASIS. Thresholds of both runways joined by taxiway at 90 degrees. Weather 1500 ft cloud base otherwise fine. We were cleared to make ILS to 6L and when visual below 1500 ft to break right to side step right to 6R. A normal SOP for Guam Agana Joint user military/civilian airfield.
Flew as instructed but once we side-stepped to 6R we lost all glide slope info due outside its 6L splay. Happily stabilised on 6R visual (no landing aids) we saw the outline of a big jet (PANAM 747) holding on the taxiway between the two thresholds. ATC cleared 747 to takeoff 6L. Very dark night so we could only see outline of 747 on taxiway and assumed he was taxiing away from us since ATC had cleared him for takeoff on 6Lb (the long runway).

We came over the 6R fence slightly high which was fortunate because unknown to us the 747 was opening to break-away thrust with his tail facing at 90 degrees to our flight path which was behind him. Suddenly our 737 almost fell out of the sky from 50 feet as the coplot called Christ - bug minus 20 and the 737 rocked laterally at the same time.
I firewalled both engines and pulled nose up to 15 degrees just as the aircraft was about to hit the runway very heavily out of control. The thrust took effect immediately and we got away from the ground as the wheels were about to hit the runway. It was a raw data instrument go-around. After we got over the shock of the near runway impact we were radar vectored back for the ILS for 6L and landed uneventfully.

Reason for the airspeed loss at 50 feet? Despite being cleared for takeoff immediately, the 747 had delayed moving from the taxiway to the threshold of 6L. Maybe the crew were still reading checklists? The crew would not be able to see our aircraft passing over the fence behind them due to the size of the 747. By the time we arrived at the threshold of 6R and within seconds of flaring for the landing, the 747 had opened up to breakaway thrust which caught us at 90 degrees. and 150 metres from the tail of the 747. The turbulence from its jetblast caused our 737 to sink rapidly. Fortunately we were already spooled up on short final which enabled firewall thrust available almost instantaneously. That and the windshear escape maneuver saved our aircraft from possible damage from a heavy landing. Our airline encouraged raw data instrument flying (our FD's were off) which helped during the go-around.

FRA - PEK - AKL with Air China
 

As an engineer I have a rough understanding of aircraft operations and capabilities. So I don't scare easily...
Then came my flight from FRA to AKL via PEK.
My first flight in a Boeing 787.
And approx over Kyushu started a rollercoaster flight as I have never witnessed before... Up, down, left, right, weightlessness, pushed into the seat and so on, for I guess 1 hour.
When I saw the wings bend up and down, I hoped that the Boeing engineers know their stuff...
Around me people were simultaneously praying and puking while I just sat there and gripped my armrests.
I got 4 warm meals on the flight because I was one of the few who actually ate something later :-)

Centaurus. That is really scary

SLF, Libya, 1984
 

A dawn flight out of the desert in a F-27 to Tripoli. The flight was a puddle hopper stopping at various locations along the way and at midday we were approaching the last stop, Zella, and the landing was clearly going to be a challenge. It was February, the sandstorm season, and a thousand foot blanket of blowing sand covered the area. At ground level the visibility would be 200m at best and the ground and sky would merge together in the same muddy brown colour.

And so it proved, the first approach was aborted and the second fared no better. As we climbed away and circled around for another go my anxiety began to rise, I knew enough about aviation to understand that it was the third approach that killed you. After that approach failed things became more dynamic, again and again we circled steep and low, struggling to line up visually with the single runway. There were oil rigs all over the place, up to 200 feet AGL, and we barely rose above them. Once I saw the startled face of the Derrickman on the Monkey Board as we swerved past in the murk.

With every failed attempt I was trying hold back my rising sense of panic. True fear was beginning to grip me and I felt utterly helpless. To try and control myself I counted every approach and tried to keep track of where we were. I checked the location of the exits and the dangling first aid kit again and again. Good strong airframe, maybe with a low speed impact I might just make it.

Each low level manoeuvre started to be much more aggressive and by the eighth approach I had started to loose even hope. This is where I die I thought, with a pilot determined to pick up a VIP.

Then after one violent low level lurch it was over. The power came on, the gear came up and we climbed away. At 1000' we burst into the clear sunshine, a deep blue sky from horizon to horizon. It took a while for the fear to leave me completely but it felt as if I had been re-born.

Not all these trips ended up so well:


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....bca2dfeeb3.jpg

This was mine:- https://www.vc10.net/Memories/IFRcockpit.html

define "scary" ..
 

define " scary " ...

is it one's first flight as a Loadmaster on an African airline B707F operating LHR-FCO-NBO-NLA-LUN ..
when after landing FCO the F/O misread the chart and we exited the runway at the wrong intersection and found ourselves
facing an oncoming Alitalia B747 ..
the headset was almost ablaze with all the shouting - the x BOAC Captain shouting at the F/O .. the F/E shouting, the tower shouting ..
in my mind's eye I can still see the B747 trundling toward us ...and working out how whether if I opened the service door I could escape
before impact ...
Luckily we all stopped just in time and after the push back trucks came and rearranged us , departed for NBO ...


or being on a BA Trident 3 shuttle LHR-GLA departing 27L when shortly after wheels up there was a loud bang from the rear of the aircraft and
the engines noise diminished ... I remembered having worked at BEA when Papa India crashed at Staines ..so I knew being in a Trident in a nose up
attitude shortly after take off with little forward motion does not end well.
Immediately after the bang there was an overwhelming and incredible silence in the cabin.
There was a collective intake of breath and a lot of quiet prayers.
Mine weren't the only hands gripping the arm rests .
Then we banked and with some limited degree of power flew a quick circuit back to land.
Only after landing and pursued by Heathrow's finest was there a sense of panic and relief - and for those brave enough to continue a quick transfer to another aircraft.
Some were unfortunate - they literally were sh1t scared.
There was no announcement or explanation ...

or is it being extra Loadie on an A3F when the pressurisation failed and made an emergency descent to 12,000ft and then finding there
weren't enough oxygen masks ... the flight deck had masks .. so it was strange hearing their breathing but under control.. that was a headache ..

or

in a career of 50 years in aviation ( when it used to be fun ..) in many roles, in many places I could go on and on.
Best advice I was given was " flying is perfectly safe, crashing isn't "
safe aviating
Roger

Back when DC-10s had a series of door related issues, climbing out from IAD, the entry door started to whistle as the pressure differential increased. Flight attendant at the nearby jump seat started to yell at those of us sitting in the front few rows of economy to move QUICKLY to the back of the plane ! I demurred, thinking that I would be better in my seat with my belt tightly buckled! Before we could discuss further, there was a loud "THUNK" as the door in finally seemed to seal properly. My neighbors came back to their seats. and n we went to LAX without any further incident..

A trivial one after all the others here. I had signed up for a paragliding course in the south of France, but the weather hadn't worked out. In compensation the owner of the school said he would take us up a local peak, and we would do a buddy jump. We should be in the air for five to ten minutes.
A long drive on dirt roads up through state forestry, and eventually, we get to the peak, and launch. I'm just a passenger, but we are about 2000ft over the valley floor, when two military jets went past below us.

Flying as Pilot Assistant on a large Twin Cessna. Flew to France for several days of waiting in a Hotel for the rich passenger to desire a return trip. First night in Hotel meant following the lead of the glorious commander and over-sampling the delights of the bar. Awoke early the next morn to the ringing of the phone. "Get dressed....they want to go home right NOW!". Landed at a southern UK airfield in a state of misery and realised I was waaaay too plastered to drive home.

25 years on 737,747,757,767 and I never broke the 24 hour 'rule' ever again. 3 engine failures, 1 very near airmiss and several "I have control" events.

Something along those lines. Many, many moons ago I was a tiny little bit late arriving at the docks one morning in Salvador, Brazil and my ship was on its merry way to Santos sans me.
I was put on a a twin engined propeller plane, I have no idea of make or type, that would take me to Rio de Janeiro. One or two remaining brain cells suggests VASP?
Anyways, as the cow's size decreased, the whistle throught the front door, which happened to be next to me, increased until it reached a level sufficient high enought to pull a stewardess out of the cockpit. She calmy reached above my head, pulled out a blanket, rolled it up and offered it to the clearance between door and frame and the delta pressure took care of the rest.
Problem solved, back to cockpit for more flirting. Or so I, aged 16, assumed.
Per

PaulRoss may I ask where and when the broken F27 was photographed please?

ex-cx It was at Gialo, Libya, around 28 40'N, 21 30'E. This report seems pretty accurate (the words seem somewhat familiar to me): https://aviation-safety.net/database...?id=19850306-0

I can add a little; a few days after the accident some engineers came and removed the radio and radar equipment but that's all, the rest was left as shown. It was still there as-is a year later beyond which I was posted. I don't know why, as a (non-aviation) engineer, that it should be treated as a write off. The aircraft was fairly new and the only significant damage was the left undercarriage leg collapse and the bent left prop. Surely that is not sufficient to write off the airframe?

Bizarrely about five or seven years later I knew a British Midland pilot whose father ran a spares business. They had been offered a F-27 in the desert and, knowing that I had worked there, he asked me if I knew about it. I was able to give him all the photographs so I guess it really was written off and broken for spares.

I think I was one of the few (alas) who used this rather strange wet-leased, relatively short-lived operation. Do I remember landing on the now-closed short cross runway 27 at Leeds once ? Thanks for your time on it, hope you found something else quickly after it ended.

Regarding the overall thread, I've been flying all my life and can honestly say I have never encountered a "scary" moment. At all. Some big turbulence but that's straightforward and I'm lucky not to spend too much time in the tropics. First Solo, yes that very one, (C152) and proudly touching down on the grass got an immediate skid to about 45 degrees, must have somehow done some differential braking. OK, all up to me now, steer straight again, on we go ...

Still there until at least 2009, judging from this photo:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....38fde63afe.jpg

Old Fokker around Gialo 59 E airport

Oh, nice find!