Filling Pants
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 11
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From: Glasgow
Filling Pants
OK, I'm in the realm of very professional people here, but there must have been times where you get that old sinking feeling when something doesn't go quite right. What's you're scariest moment as a commercial pilot?
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1
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From: Bristol
Operating the last flight out of Addis with US Embassy personnel in the late seventies when Ethiopia went communist.
A DC8-63, wouldn't slow under braking on the downhill backtrack to runway threshold after a tropical shower, only assymetric reverse thrust (very slow procedure on a dc8-63) swung the airplane around at the threshold but took out some lights in the process. Took off at max thrust immed, without clearance and with total disregard for epr ( put your trust in God and Pratt and Whitney) and field altitude and persistent calls from tower to return immed. Shadowed by Migs until Egyptian border. Landed Cairo with two tires blown.
Hitting tropopause in dc8-63 mid atlantic eastbound tracks. Air temp went to something like plus 20. Had to go to gradually to take off power and disconnect autopilot, but ias dropped to stall speed, stick shaker, and altimeter unwinding like crazy through westbound altitudes. Unable raise shanwick or gander on hf. Eery lack of wind noise in cockpit, troubling max power engine parameters for forty minutes just to maintain ias above stall. Dest was Madrid, had to eventually continue at fl270 below tracks and land Lisbon due excess fuel burn. Put your trust in....
Flying night Shannon approach in MD11, severe crosswind component. Sitting in cockpit jump seat, had a straight ahead view of runway out of side window. Wet runway, severe turbulence, instrument panel and pilot's hands a blur...not one bounce on landing...pretty severe assymetric braking though...a masterful display and not a drop of sweat...except on copilot's head! And mine.
A DC8-63, wouldn't slow under braking on the downhill backtrack to runway threshold after a tropical shower, only assymetric reverse thrust (very slow procedure on a dc8-63) swung the airplane around at the threshold but took out some lights in the process. Took off at max thrust immed, without clearance and with total disregard for epr ( put your trust in God and Pratt and Whitney) and field altitude and persistent calls from tower to return immed. Shadowed by Migs until Egyptian border. Landed Cairo with two tires blown.
Hitting tropopause in dc8-63 mid atlantic eastbound tracks. Air temp went to something like plus 20. Had to go to gradually to take off power and disconnect autopilot, but ias dropped to stall speed, stick shaker, and altimeter unwinding like crazy through westbound altitudes. Unable raise shanwick or gander on hf. Eery lack of wind noise in cockpit, troubling max power engine parameters for forty minutes just to maintain ias above stall. Dest was Madrid, had to eventually continue at fl270 below tracks and land Lisbon due excess fuel burn. Put your trust in....
Flying night Shannon approach in MD11, severe crosswind component. Sitting in cockpit jump seat, had a straight ahead view of runway out of side window. Wet runway, severe turbulence, instrument panel and pilot's hands a blur...not one bounce on landing...pretty severe assymetric braking though...a masterful display and not a drop of sweat...except on copilot's head! And mine.
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 513
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From: Sydney NSW
not so scary but scary enough
There have been scary moments but none like that. But the ground is a very bad place to be.
Landing at 190 tonnes on a particular single runway (with an initial hugely steep upslope) and a hump. No ground radar, no ILS. In a far away country. The guy ahead was meant to proceed to the end of rwy and await turnaround instructions. Because of the upslope I mentioned, the TDZ is considerably displaced from the actual end of pavement with 5,000ft to a suitable turnoff and because of the hump guys at the far end can disappear from sight. Guess who I met gaily bowling back up the runway back-tracking to my turnoff? The other guy, both of us with island reserve fuel and closing at 50 knots. He stopped dead, 200ft short of the turn-off. Close to four hundred souls all told, well over three hundred tonnes of potential conflict and nearly thirty tonnes of fuel. He bought dinner, I bought the wine. We both sure learned a lot about that. Truly there are more commercial aircraft in pieces on the ground than there are ships broken down in the sky. Apart from military service which had its sad times I have led a charmed life, not one IFSD, nothing in thirty years. So I quit whilst still ahead without anyone having to tell me Old Smokey!
Landing at 190 tonnes on a particular single runway (with an initial hugely steep upslope) and a hump. No ground radar, no ILS. In a far away country. The guy ahead was meant to proceed to the end of rwy and await turnaround instructions. Because of the upslope I mentioned, the TDZ is considerably displaced from the actual end of pavement with 5,000ft to a suitable turnoff and because of the hump guys at the far end can disappear from sight. Guess who I met gaily bowling back up the runway back-tracking to my turnoff? The other guy, both of us with island reserve fuel and closing at 50 knots. He stopped dead, 200ft short of the turn-off. Close to four hundred souls all told, well over three hundred tonnes of potential conflict and nearly thirty tonnes of fuel. He bought dinner, I bought the wine. We both sure learned a lot about that. Truly there are more commercial aircraft in pieces on the ground than there are ships broken down in the sky. Apart from military service which had its sad times I have led a charmed life, not one IFSD, nothing in thirty years. So I quit whilst still ahead without anyone having to tell me Old Smokey!
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 549
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From: uk
Gave a student an Engine Failure After Take Off at about 150'. He was very slick on the drills but just a bit too slick. Right through the drills up to and including magnetos off.
We had a bit of a chat about it
He bought me some new Y fronts and I bought life insurance
We had a bit of a chat about it
He bought me some new Y fronts and I bought life insurance
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 84
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From: 1000 ft AMSL
Not commercial, but pleasure...
Aerobatics in a Tiger Moth. Maneouvre went VERY awry / A over T...negative G push over (not nice in an open cockpit), ended up inverted, literally hanging by the straps in an open cockpit, looking at terra firma.
Pucker factor No6 (on a scale of 10).
Aerobatics in a Tiger Moth. Maneouvre went VERY awry / A over T...negative G push over (not nice in an open cockpit), ended up inverted, literally hanging by the straps in an open cockpit, looking at terra firma.
Pucker factor No6 (on a scale of 10).
