Your Worst Flight And Why
 

Pilots or just pax (passengers) are welcome to answer. I am a CAO 777-200 pilot. My worst flight was from EWR - LHR. We were delayed 11 hours for snow on the runway and we had a lot of turbulence over the Atlantic. Share your experiences.

Luxury COA777, used to dream about bein' delayed 11 hours. We thought we was lucky if we were only delayed t' week.

Used to dream about t' turbulence over t' Atlantic. We though we was lucky if t'wings was still on at end of trip.

Don't tell me about snow on runway. We used to have to take of in ten foot snow drifts and we still had to do assumed temperature derates. Flight ops manager used to go into hysterics as we went of end of t'runway still only doing t'ten knots.

:) :) :)

YMX-LIS on a TAP B707. 5 hours (of a six hour flight) of moderate turbulence - compounded by being seated in the very last row, thus getting the full effect of rudder and elevator deflections. I kid you not, I came away with bruised thighs from the constant bashing they got bouncing from armrest to armrest.

CREWS PLEASE NOTE: what you may categorise as light turbulence up front can well be moderate at back! So think about the poor buggers in the last rows :)

[This message has been edited by Hotel Tango (edited 09 December 2000).]

My first NFT (failed) was easily the worst flight of my life. Even now, I can't bear to think about it.

COA777:

What were you doing in LHR?? Surely, you guys don't operate into there?? Must've been a really terrible flight if you got lost and landed at the wrong airport!!!

:) :) :)

[This message has been edited by Oceanic Airspace (edited 09 December 2000).]

On one IR training ride, my instructor's debrief started with:-

"Well, that was going very nicely - then we walked out to the aircraft..."

29th of October this year: AMS-LGW on a Cityflyer RJ100 - gale force winds, rain, windshear etc.

As stated above, probably would't have been that bad up front but scared the life out of me sitting at the very rear of the aircraft watching (or trying not to) the world outside tipping itself upside down (or was that us?).

Later found out that some larger planes had opted to divert to calmer skies.

Apart from that the RJ100 is a wonderful plane, very confortable and you really get the 'feeling' on flying, even as a humble pax.

Aisleman http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif

Going home in the back, not even in the right seat after been weathered in at my destination in somebody else's aircraft. After refusing to die trying to fly out IFR with zero IFR training. They sent an IR rated pilot and his smirking cronies to get the aeroplane. After they landed following an illegal below minimums NDB approach.They put me in the back and left the one they flew in behind. I had to pay for everybodys fun day out.
I was later grounded for flying in IMC by the CFI? Irony of ironies.
Lessons learned. Life isn't fair and doing the right thing can get you into as much trouble as not doing the right thing. And get an Instrument rating. Two months later I had one.

[This message has been edited by fifthcolumns (edited 09 December 2000).]

Summer of 94, SFO-LAX on UA shuttle. Still remember it well after 6 years so you know how bad it is.

After everyone on board, one engine failed to start. Reboard another plane and then found one cargo door didn't closed properly just before take off. Arrival was 2.5 hrs late and my original 3 hour connection time for my LAX-HKG flight (on CX) became only 30 min.

I asked the purser to let me seat close to the exit door and have ground staff help me with the trasfer. Didn't happen. I went to the UA desk for help after landed and the staff kindly point to the airport shuttle but stop and told me that's how I go to other terminals.

Fortunatly, there is a change in wind direction and the incoming CX plane from HKG was delayed for 2 hrs and the return fligh make up those 2 hrs completely. I still catch the flight and arrive HKG on time.

However, I do swear not to fly UA anymore.

My GFPT. I was psyched out even before I got to the aircraft, and from that point, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. End result - the crappest flight of my life.

At least I remembered to untie the aircraft...

Two spring to mind. First was a long time ago; C130 12 hr night flight Port Stanley to Ascension,heavy thunderstorms,icing, mod turb for most of the trip, wx on mins for landing and total autopilot failure at 1000' on climbout!

Second was similar wx, but a 20 min positioning flight MAN LUT with a very skittish 64 tonne 757. I was equally knackered after both flights

Another one springs to mind:

A propeller job from Lugano to Geneva over the Alps - I'm trying to look cool and professional in front of a colleague whom I'm taking round various European clients).

As I'm pointing out to her how beautiful the Alps looked, the plane hits a pocket of clean air (I think, I'm not a weatherman so don't slate me on that!) and decides to drop down rather sharpish to have a closer look.

I swear the propeller looked as if it had stopped for a second or two! The pilot looked cool as a cucumber though, so we didn't panic....much! And we tried to forget the connecting Saab waiting for us to go on to Dusseldorf.

aisleman http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif

Worst flight ever....

One springs to mind as it made the most impression at the time.

Just when I thought I had the Tiger by the tail, he turned around and bit me! I was a CPL with around 250 hours of which 50 where in the PA-44. I was out on my own on a VFR cross country from KGFK to KDLH (in the Midwestern US) one summer after noon.

To make a long, painfully story short, on the return leg I incountered sereve Thunderstorms and got the Fear of God put into me! What an afternoon...I was never so happy to be on the ground!

There has been others but none quite like that!

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FLY SAFE!!!

AMS to EMA in a BMA FK27, I have never experienced such a bumpy flight in my life! Stupid thing was, when we got down my fear and terror had turned into excitement and wanting more(I was very young, these days I would have unloaded a fair package in my pants!) I also was a victim of hitting a so called airpocket departing PMI in a LTU L1011, my Father(very experienced airtraveller) sitting next to me grabbed my hand in shear horror!

After flying 10 and half hours to DFW (which nearly diverted because of an ill pax)

Sent to the wrong terminal by AA ground staff,

Sent back to original terminal by AA ground staff to gate A26

Got there and the flight was for Mexico city sent to gate A12 for my flight to Las Vegas

Got to A12 and flight delayed 1 hour due to late arriving acft. (Fair Enough)

Acft arrived cleaned catered etc and took 45 mins

Then we were boarded to find that there was a problem with baggage (Never found out what though) delayed further 40 mins

Left gate 2h 20 mins late got to the end of the runway and something broke went back to gate sat in the aircraft and waited 50 mins for an engineer to finally declare the acft US.( I'm not complaining though, best to find out 0 feet that 27'000 feet.)

Waited 3 hours for alternate equipment to arrive.

30 mins turnaround (Good going)

Arrived LAS 6 & half hours late and 24 hours after I'd woken up!

But I have to say Baggage aside I could'nt blame AA it was just one of those days!


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You fly em we'll fill em!

[This message has been edited by Desk Driver (edited 15 December 2000).]

The first time SSAT. After that first spin I thought I'd never fly again!

London Gatwick-Geneva, 27 April 1974, Piper Aztec. My second month as a newly fledged commercial pilot, heavily iced up with a full load of pax aboard, everything firewalled, still going down and unable to communicate with Geneva. Well, fortune smiled upon me that day, but I'm still convinced that it's the closest I've been to becoming a "Statistic" and I hadn't even really got started! (850 hours.)
"All good character building stuff" they said "COMMAND EXPERIENCE. It'll stand you in good stead." Personally, I still think I'd have learned more in the right hand seat of an F27, as I subsequently did. However, if I won the Lottery, I'd love to buy a nice old Aztec, but I wouldn't fly it in serious icing conditions!!

Easy... Nov '91 Virgin Atlantic MIA to LGW. Delayed for 9 hours, and then finally told our plane hadn't left London. They chartered a Tower Air 747 with a different seat config so some of us were left behind,on take-off the lights went out in the cabin - completely. People screaming, kids crying... you get the picture! Diverted to Stansted on arrival, due to fog, behind two other VA jumbos, had to sit on plane for a further 3 hours before we could get off, toilets blocked and stinking etc. Bussed down to LGW.. arrived home nearly 24 hours late. Lovely.... (but we did get some nice compensation from RB and occasionally still fly with 'em!!) Now... JMC - there's an airline I'd never fly with again... but that's another story!

BE-76 Wife and I off to have pleasant W/E. N67(wingsfield, Philadelphia) - NIA (Niagra falls) nightime middle of winter. No heating. Unforcast icing, full power to maintain height, still decending!. Divert to ELZ(Wellsville-only airport we could make) 40 knot X-wind, uncontrolled field, closed. localiser approach on minimums.

Turned on the lights (airport) yippee. Turned on the lights (aircraft) nothing! (covered in ice, landing lights and windscreen). Realised the snow hadn't been cleared 5" deep eek. On touchdown upwind wheel digs in, a/c yaws! landing happened sideways (fortunately mains didn't collapse). X-wind weathercocks a/c further.

On shutting down engines a BIG sigh of relief echos out.

In the pitch black I walk off the wing to the step and fall onto my arse (a/c step covered in ice) very painfully for weeks.

Live and Learn.

Rescued 1/2 hour later by a local Pittsburg Approach rang him out of bed! We said our thanks to all and hired the biggest, warmest car we could. We drove the remaining distance.

Not my worst ever flight but makes me chuckle....

Flying happily across the wilds of Scotland last week in my trusty C172, applying regular carb heat as you do when the conditions prevail.
Went to apply the carb heat again a few mins later and the knob & pushrod came off in my hand !!
Not scary or anything but the confused look on my face must have been a picture !!

Decided a prompt return to land would be a wise move after that before the coughing and spluttering commenced.

Similar thing happened to me with a car gearstick once......

Is someone trying to tell me something ??