Frightening Air Travel Moments

But I did live to tell these tales.

I’ve had three terrifying flights that I’ve parked in the long-term memory, wishing they’d be forgotten. But like any scary situation, they surface the minute a smidgen of a reminder allows them to.

Writing about my cockpit adventure and my confessional story declaring my fear of flying had those very thoughts rear their head again.

Why not get them off my chest and share the wild rides?

Although they don’t beat my son’s trip from Paris to Rabat a few years ago when the cabin filled with smoke as there was a small fire on the plane, these incidents unnerved me at the time. As much as flying has its benefits, I’m on edge at the slightest sniff, sound or feel of trouble.

Let’s try that again…

An aborted landing was the most horrific of the three. We were flying into Auckland, New Zealand, from Los Angeles and had been in the air for 12 long hours.

The weather was frightful outside, a typical welcome home. Rain was pelting the small oval windows, and the sky was menacing. The 747 was being buffeted from side-to-side and yoyoing up and down as we made the final approach to land.

I was relieved to finally see the grassy verge and edge of the runway below us. The wings were flapping more like a bird than a plane as the outside elements pummelled the fuselage.

We touched down, but instead of the brakes being applied, the engines revved up, and we started climbing again, veering a few degrees off the direction of the runway.

WTF was going on?

A distinct murmuring rippled through the cabin as passengers exchanged glances and words, trying to make sense of the moment. My brain went into a whirlwind of emotions, but at the forefront was fear.

Actually, it was more absolute terror.

It seemed forever before the captain announced that a sudden gust of wind — or wind shear — had him decide it was safer to go around than attempt to stop the plane.

Well, that’s all very well and good, but all I could think of was if we had enough fuel to spend more minutes in the air — and what happens if it occurs the second time around?

Hubby assured me that planes carry enough fuel for such events, but spending extra time a couple of thousand feet in the air was not my idea of fun, especially in the dreadful conditions.

It was utterly paralyzing, yet I had to stay calm for my kids. The last thing I needed was one of them freaking out, mainly because I was barely hanging onto calmness as it was.

Thankfully, we did land on the second approach, and a round of applause thundered through the cabin.

Phew!

When there’s a smoke alarm, there’s fire, right?

It had been one of the best flights ever. In 2010, a volcanic eruption in Iceland had halted air traffic through much of the European air space. Since my flight from Auckland to Los Angeles was to continue onto Heathrow, it was practically empty as people’s travel plans were squashed before they even set out.

There were only a dozen people in my section of the massive 747, so I had stretched out on one of the empty middle rows and had a decent, horizontal sleep — for once. The service was excellent since the crew had few passengers to appease.

About 30 minutes outside of LA, an alarm started sounding from one of the lavatories not far from where I was sitting. The flight attendants were confused as the door was locked, and yet no one was in there.

They finally got into the loo, and there appeared to be no fire, but they could not disarm the alarm. All I could think was, why did it go off in the first place?

I convinced myself that the plane was on fire in the undercarriage below the toilet. Had my dear brain dredged up the terrible accident back in 1983 when a fire had started in the loo of an Air Canada flight, made an emergency landing, yet 23 people died because of smoke inhalation and a burst of flames when the doors were opened?

My heckles were up, even to the point I could see smoke. It didn’t help that I could hear the hosties talking, and they too seemed weirded out by what was happening.

It was the longest 30 minutes of my life. It took me every ounce of energy to remain calm and not completely freak out. I kept sniffing the air, hoping like hell I wouldn’t smell smoke. I spent more time looking back at the loo than out the window and even felt the floor to see if it was getting hot!

There was no smoke and no fire either, but that relentless alarm persuaded me into panic mode.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we hit the tarmac — alarm still pinging. But at least we were now on solid ground, and the emergency vehicles did not come and greet us!

The bumpiest ride ever

I was en route from Invercargill to Auckland on an early evening flight. Midway through the journey, the plane started being tossed violently around. As much as I know these huge flying tubes have been constructed to sustain a significant beating from turbulence, it was relentless.

Its sudden arrival sent the hosties to their knees — literally. They were amid the food service and had no time to move the cart back into the gulley. The two near me resumed a kneeling position in the aisle and clung onto the seat frame. Seeing that scared me more!

En plus, outside that tiny window, the sky was illuminated by an electrical storm that seemed to be a little too close for comfort. I honestly thought we would get zapped, and my time was up.

Obviously, we did land safely, but I got off that plane and promptly threw up!

Want to see some crazy action?

If you’re afraid of flying, it’s best not to click on the following links. While my fear seems to worsen as I get older, I have this strange urge and tendency to watch scary stuff. Huh?!

Check out this YouTube footage on wind shear landings or this one on turbulence during a flight. I think I would turn into a screaming maniac if I witnessed the engine on fire like in this video. They all make my stories rather dull in comparison.

In truth, flying is very safe. My assumption that you are more likely to die on the way to the airport than in a plane crash is valid.

It is estimated that the odds of dying in a plane crash are 1 in 9,821. For a better perspective, that is 1 fatal accident per 16 million flights. Whereas the odds of dying in a car crash are approximately 1 in 114. Source

Does anyone else have any scary flight stories to share? I’m sure you’ve got to have some, Adrienne Beaumont?!