Scary experience!!

[Rudy]

Ok sorry for asking but i find scary experiences in Airplanes are somewhat interesting and there is usually something to learn from them.
So what was the scariest thing that has happend to you in an airplane?

Mine was the CO deal that i wrote about in Lessons Learned.

 

[Brian Austin]

So what was the scariest thing that has happend to you in an airplane?

Encounter with a dustdevil on short final while flying pre-PPL solo. I had no idea the winds could be that strong. Thankfully I recovered in time, did a go-around and started shaking AFTER I was flying again.

 

[citationxjl]

Ground looping a SuperCub with my student and flipping over. I still play it over and over again in my head. Never want to do that again.

 

[James_Dean]

Static Blockage in IMC.

I was near the end of what was supposed to be a sky clear x-country going from SPW to BNA. I knew from in flight updates that a cloud deck had formed near destination, however no airmet, and at my alt temps were not forcast to have been freezing or below. I went IMC about 20 miles from BNA. At ten miles was cleared lower for the approach. Immediately started getting bounced around and picking up light/med rime. Six miles from GS intercept I started to get erratic readings on VSI, ASI, and ALT. Took a deep breath, assesed the situation, opened the alt static source, picked up the GS, changed the GPS to alt function as a cross check, broke out at 1000ft, and landed normally.

Landed with 1/4" rime and later found one heating element on the mast was not working.

Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet, Watch.

 

[sshekels]

Engine failure while flying with my entire family. The sound of silence is really an attention getter.

 

[Mark S]

Engine quit on a friends 150. Over the airport, fortunately, but still kind of scary. There are very few airplanes I will fly in now that I don't have an intimate knowledge of.

 

[sshekels]

ya, that was the LAST time I rented that plane, and it convinced my wife to buy. Best thing that ever happened. It also made me realize that all those emergency lists drilled into you as a student stick. It was a non-event till I was on the ground, then reality hit.

Fortunately it was not my fault (no carb ice, etc.), and the outcome was optimal. The renting FBO also went out of their way to talk the event through with me to analyze it, and look for anything I could have done better. The FBO owner was a commercial pilot for one of the big guys, and was part of a team for his company that talked to pilots after "bad" things happened. At the time it was comforting, in retrospect it was a crucial. I'm still flying after all this, as is the family. I owe him much....

 

[bbchien]

Ok sorry for asking but i find scary experiences in Airplanes are somewhat interesting and there is usually something to learn from them.
So what was the scariest thing that has happend to you in an airplane?

Some years ago started losing turbo boost at FL 18 on top of winter ice over New Hampsh'a. Added boost, lost more boost. Knew I had a blowtorch somewhere. Descended at idle, into the ice, over Nashua. They were reporting 800-2, circled in a tight 1.5-2 arc per my GPS. Nervous as a cat when at 800 I couldn't see a danged thing. At 600, broke out, had about 25 seconds and setup the runway.

Blew a segment of a fiber gasket (thing still had fiber gaskets, not metal!) and had char on the inside of the cowling. Whole family aboard although the girls were too young to remember.

Bought the Seneca shortly thereafter.

I've had some others but this one was eighteen minutes long. Plent of time to get antsy.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

Two because of mechanical failures, (others for weather in IMC):

Engine out to off field LDG in TR182RG over Idaho
& a Cub cabin full of smoke almost instantly, to LDG on taxiway and fire extinguishers.

Check lists are GOOD

 

[Maverick]

I was on a solo trip IFR to Chicago's Palwaukee airport where the ceiling was 600 ft. I was at 2500 ft. over Lake Michigan, IMC and being vectored to the ILS 16 approach course when my HSI failed. I called ATC and told them of my gyro failure and said I have no directional gyro. The very next thing the controller did was give me a new heading to intercept the approach course. There were TFRs all over the Chicago area because the President was in town, I was IMC with no gyro and the controller didn't seem to be too interested in my equipment failure.

I put my handheld GPS into it's HSI mode and used that for my heading reference since my wet compass was bouncing around due to the turbulance. Finally when I was somewhat established on the localizer, the controller called me to ask if I needed any special handling. I wonder if my eratic approach gave him a hint. By that time I was pretty well set and I broke out of the clouds shortly afterward.

The HSI failure was a major event, without it I couldn't use my autopilot, I didn't have a stable reference for heading and I had to switch to NAV 2 and use the OBI. I have to say that once you get used to flying approaches with an HSI you really miss it when it's not working.

There is never a good time for an equipment failure but this was about the worst time I could possibly think of for this sort of failure.

Jean

 

[Lawreston]

"So what was the scariest thing that has happend to you in an airplane?"


Mostly, I felt it was the time my first CFI, working me on power-off stalls in a C-150, suckered me into a spin("little more left rudder; little more", and we were suddenly looking at the ground. He saved it("Amazing what happens if you don't keep the ball centered.")

But the above now takes 2nd place to the photo, from which I walked away with two 1/4" knuckle scratches and a bridge of my glasses scratch on my nose.

HR

 

[ErikU]

Wow, I think we need the story to go with that pic above!


To me, the scariest is near midairs. I've had a few, and I'm surprised others haven't mentioned that. It also sucked when I was non instrument rated and ended up in the clouds, low, at night.

 

[Lawreston]

Wow, I think we need the story to go with that pic above!

https://www.sunjournal.com/search/story.php?ID=48949

However, there are writer-misinterpretations of terminology and fact in the above. Of course, that never happens when non-aviator writers report on aviation mishaps.

EDIT: The above may not load(?????). Below is one from a different paper whose writer had a better slant on the story. Both, front page headlines but the latter spent more time talking to me and clarifying terminologies.

http://www.timesrecord.com/website/...8525696e00630dfe05256e580057f45e?OpenDocument

HR

 

[corjulo]

My scariest experience? None, and that scares me. I know its only a matter of time until I screw up or equipment fails me and I find out if the training was enough.

 

[bstratt]

First solo while working on my PPL, second time around the field, ran into 15kt wind shear on short final. I thought the plane was going to land backwards! By the time I got it on the ground I was soaked with sweat and my glasses were fogged up. That was it for that day.

 

[Greebo]

Nothing THAT scary, thank the gods. I guess landing at Pottstown Limerick last year with some gusting crosswinds and about 5ft AGL we had a bit of a gust and all of the sudden the plane was yawing to a 30 degree angle to centerline. Full-forward and went around with visions of a side-load landing and rolling the plane at 60 kts...but thats about it.

Had a couple of, oh, lets call them intensely interesting, approaches but thats the only moment I think I had where there was any real *fear*, and that was momentary. I'm lucky - pressure moments generally make me focus rather than lock up or lose it.

 

[gismo]

Losing an engine in IMC (clouds & snow) on approach into Drummond Island. This was in the Bonanza I owned before the Baron. I was able to get it restarted, but not before nearly stalling the thing due to disbelief that the engine really quit and some ice on the wings. The rest of the approach wasn't close to one of my best, but it was successful.

 

[Earthroamer]

Lets just say it deals with weather and a King Air. Fused landing light and strobe like together and blew the beacon off the aircraft. I had a cigerette and a beer when I landed and I dont smoke.


Brent

 

[gkainz]

Near midair collision as a student. The instructor took the chart to show me something, part of a "teaching moment" and we both ended up head down in the cockpit for what seemed like just a few seconds. We both looked up into the eyes of a C-182 pilot crossing right to left in front of us, maybe 20 feet above and what seemed like less than 50 feet in front of us.

 

[gibbons]

No doubt the onboard fire and resulting forced landing. This was a no-kidding flames inside the cockpit fire, with enough smoke in the cockpit that observers on the ground reported seeing it trailing out of the airplane in the descent. Not my prettiest landing ever, but probably one of my best.

Chip

 

[EdFred]

There I was...sorry, couldn't help it.

It was my second solo cross country and my first in the 172. I had about 30 hours total time. I took off from Z98 and went to MKG, LAN, and then GRR returning back to Z98. There was a cold frount to be moving in, but I should have beaten it in by at least 3-4 hours. I dialed up the AWOS at Tulip City (BIV) only about 5 miles SW and they said winds were at 290 @ 10. The runway at Z98 is 2/20. 90º x-wind no matter what. My instructor was on the ground waiting for me with a hand held. I says "Hey, these winds are over what you have me signed off for." "Don't worry about it, it's only 1 kt, and if you can't make it, go over to Tulip City and I'll get the plane."

Well, I never got lined up properly on the first pass, and I thought it seemed more than 10kt cross, but it is my first time alone in this plane so maybe I'm just not used to it. So I went around and got lined up again. Everything is stable, centerline is there, numbers are still in the windscreen. Hmm...this seems like quite a bit of slip I'm needing to use. I see my instructor watching me on the ramp, and he's not saying anything on the radio or waving me off, so I proceed in. Slide in over the numbers on 20, left wheel down, right wheel down, main wheel down still holding in full left ailerons....

WHOA...my ass end is lifting up! (Remember that cold front that was supposed to be here 3 hours later?) It's called wind shear and a gust came out of the (I think the) SW and lifted the tail, and the right wheel started to come off the ground. All I could see is asphalt in the windscreen. I pulled the yoke back as hard as I could all the way to the stop, and I was just waiting for the sound of metal hitting concrete. The prop never hit, but I can't imagine that there was much clearance left. Then I could see the end of the runway again, and I breathed a sigh of relief and started to apply the brakes. That sudden tailwind gave me a little burst of forward speed. But the ordeal wasn't over yet...oh no, that would be too simple. Now with a GS of about 50+ knots, the right brake partially LOCKS on me. I can hear the right tire squealing and the plane is starting to veer off the runway. So now my feet are dancing on the pedals. Hard left brake, now it's going left, let it up, back to the right a little, more left, less left...

Finally after weaving like a sidewinder down the runway, I got it to come to a stop. The right brake was still partially locked and then after a couple good stomps on the pedal it came loose. Back taxi and finally get it to the tiedown. My (bush pilot) instructor says with a grin on his face,
"Looks like you had a little fun out there."
"Yeah, there is no way those winds are only ten knots!! And then the brake locked up!!"
"I wondered what was going on."
"Me too!"
"Well, of all the students we have, I'm glad it was you in the plane, no one else out here would have handled it."

We figured the winds were probably about 25kts. Scary, but I think that single experienced made me a better pilot. The brake issue happened again with him and I in the plane, and we grounded it.

 

[RobertGerace]

I've been scared in airplanes lots of times. Sometimes for good reason; sometimes not.

Thank God, for none of the reasons posted here.

I have some questions:

HR: Why are there different names between the Harley who posts here and the name of the pilot in the newspaper article? (Jerry Crute?)

Chip: What caused the fire (so I can hopefully avoid one).

Bruce: I know the way you maintain your airplanes...how did that happen despite your very-high-maintenance standards?

Lance: How did you lose an engine? The fact you were able to restart points to fuel, spark, or air (did you run a tank dry by accident?) Did your air intakes freeze over and you had to go to alternate? Did you just 'bump' the key off or accidentally chop the mixture? How did you get it restarted?

Dave: How'd you get full of smoke?

 

[gibbons]

Chip: What caused the fire (so I can hopefully avoid one).

This is what I know: The fire was the result of a pneumatic door seal that didn't shut off. It was wired with a breaker that, for reasons unknown, didn't trip. The pump caught fire melting electrical wiring behind the panel.

This is what I've been told: This was one of five accidents (fire related) caused by this pump (common on 210's, Bonanza's and Barons, and a host of other airplanes). Three of the five resulted in fatalities of all on board. This, at least, is what I was told by the accident investigators. I wound up on a conference call with the feds, the pump manufacturer, and Beech. An AD was apparently issued on the pump soon after.

Chip

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

I've been scared in airplanes lots of times. Sometimes for good reason; sometimes not.

Thank God, for none of the reasons posted here.

I have some questions:

HR: Why are there different names between the Harley who posts here and the name of the pilot in the newspaper article? (Jerry Crute?)

Chip: What caused the fire (so I can hopefully avoid one).

Bruce: I know the way you maintain your airplanes...how did that happen despite your very-high-maintenance standards?

Lance: How did you lose an engine? The fact you were able to restart points to fuel, spark, or air (did you run a tank dry by accident?) Did your air intakes freeze over and you had to go to alternate? Did you just 'bump' the key off or accidentally chop the mixture? How did you get it restarted?

Dave: How'd you get full of smoke?

The owner & I were flying on a hot day in an ancient Cub (1941 ?) that we'd flown a lot. The oil cap worked loose after a while and some oil was shot out into the engine compartment and when it hit the hot carb heat shround the old aluminium just blew up so that with all the hot metal= instant smoke screen in the cockpit ! We landed out of the pattern onto the taxi way where his truck was parked with fire extinguishers before any fire, Thank God...

I ALWAYS carry a small halon fire extinguisher, but didn't put it in his plane that day.

 

[Bones]

FL330 in the Lear with smoke in the cockpit, bad WX below, and 1 engine.

 

[AdamZ]

WOW! Thankfully mine is nothing like those previously posted! I was on my first X-C to WWD. We did a touch and go and on climb out we hit windshear and my little gruman AA1-C did almost a 90 degree roll. Thankfully my CFI was with me.

 

[MSmith]

Adam - which airport?

The winds at WWD are legendary. My instructor told me that he often takes students there to practice crosswind work - even though it's a short XC (52NM) from home.

 

[Diana]

FL330 in the Lear with smoke in the cockpit, bad WX below, and 1 engine.

Gosh, Eric. I'd like to hear more about that one. What happened? What was the smoke from? Did you land with just 1 engine, or did you get it restarted?

 

[Diana]

#1 I've already talked about in a thread here somewhere a while back. (flipped a taildragger after hitting the ditch).

#2 Hitting a deer on take-off at night. It ran into the Skyhawk after I had lifted off and was about 2 or 3 feet in the air. We could feel it shoving the airplane sideways through the air. I stayed in the pattern and tried to look out the window with the flashlight to see if the landing gear or anything else was damaged and came around and landed. The deer was lying in the middle of the runway. Evidently it ran into the left main and that was the only point of impact.

 

[Ken Ibold]

Taking my first XC after getting my instrument rating. I was in the soup almost immediately after takeoff. The autopilot was INOP (or so I thought. Actually it was a rigging problem). After 3.5 hours aloft, I was tired from all the hand flying and got instructions to begin my descent for an ILS approach. The combination of descent, turbulence and fatigue gave me the leans big time. I would follow my instruments, but then my body would override my brain and I'd bank. Or I'd snatch it back too fast and overcompensate. I was really starting to lose control and could feel the panic rising when I broke out only momentarily. That glimpse of horizon was enough to clear up everything. Wife and 1-year-old son aboard.

 

[gkainz]

re: #2 Ummmm! All the fixin's for venison jerkey!

 

[gibbons]

re: #2 Ummmm! All the fixin's for venison jerkey!

Eric probably remembers this:
A local student pilot landed the 172 over at a remote airstrip and hit a deer. So he could prove what had happened and to explain why the airplane prop tip was bent he loaded the carcass into the airplane and flew it back to the airport. I am NOT making that up.

Chip

 

[Henning]

So what was the scariest thing that has happend to you in an airplane?

February Approaching Montgomery AL Enroute St. Louis to Key West in solid IMC at 9000ft, time: apporoaching sunset. A little while ago, I was getting some funny smells from my heater in my Travel Air so I had shut it down. Needless to say it was really freaking cold and the heater wouldn't restart. Slowly oh so slowly my AI started indicating a turn that when I corrected for caused my T&B to indicate improperly, all the while, DG isn't changing heading. A quick look at the compass tells me the T&B is correct. Crap, Vacuum system froze up. Well hell gettin dark, may as well head into Montgomerty. "Montgomery approach, 04Y, I've experienced a vacuum failure and would like landing Montgomery. Roger 04Y would you like a No Gyro Approach into Mont? "Yes sir, that sounds like a wonderful thing" Roger 04Y, Start right turn and decend to 2500 ft.....04Y stop turn etc etc level at 2500 and I hear a BANG on my fuselage next to me WTF!?! then another one, I kick on my landing lights and I have several inches of Ice on my leading edges. ****! Throttles to the firewalls turbos up. "Montgomery App. 04Y in Heavy Icing, need lower." 04Y No lower for 3 minutes due to terrain. "Roger, call as soon as clear." **** **** ****... don't want to give up the speed or change AOA for climbing. "04Y clear for descent, call clear of clouds" down down... 1600' "Montgomery approach 04Y clear of clouds" Roger 04Y cancelling No Gyro. "Negative, cannot cancel" 04Y understood clear of clouds? "Affirmative, however I have several inches of Ice on my windshield" Roger, continuing approach. You should be picking up the localizer. "Roger, Localizer and GS Alive" At this point, I have not slowed down, I'm flying this approach at 170. "Montgomery approach could you call me 1 mile and then 1/4 mile final" 04Y Roger 1 and 1/4.... 04Y 1 mile, quick prayer, gear down, get a green... 04Y 1/4 mile Open storm window to look out of... Drive the plane onto the runway at 170 and then pull back the throttles and get on the brakes. "Montgomery approach, 04Y on the ground and thanks you for your service" I taxied up to the FBO there and the ramp kid came out and looked at my plane and said "Holy ****! You want me to put that in the hanger?" "Yes please and I need a cab to the nearest bar". I've had several occurances in Ag planes, but I've never been scared in any of them. Everything is so immediate, all you have mental time for is doing what's necessary. This was the only time I was "Scared", because the event was so drawn out, there was mental room for it.

 

[gkainz]

Eric probably remembers this:
A local student pilot landed the 172 over at a remote airstrip and hit a deer. So he could prove what had happened and to explain why the airplane prop tip was bent he loaded the carcass into the airplane and flew it back to the airport. I am NOT making that up.

yeahbut, did he field dress it first?

 

[fgcason]

I had several. I don't know that I was actually scared until after landing. I was too busy at the time. Knowing what to do next and not having time to think helps a lot. Running out of problems before running out of answers is a good thing IMO.

Engine hesitating in a CE150 shortly after getting my PP. I was a bit nervous because I had 10 minutes of drone time climbing while getting back to the airport. My sister was surprisingly calm. When I asked, she said seeing me so busy and knowing what I was doing next and talking it out to myself made her know I was going to get us down in one piece regardless of what we used as a runway. Same plane crashed a week later due to engine failure regardless of the long discussion I had with the FBO after landing.

Downwind in a CE152 some Yutz in a 172 come sailing in on the 45 entry even after admitting he sees me and practically ran me over. While doing a belly rivet count on him (one looked slightly loose) I dove to 400AGL halfway between downwind and the runway. Empty air is a good escape route to sort your rock collection out.

Uncountable assorted critters jumping out on the runway while flaring always gets a round of adrenalin going.

The most dangerous was on a somewhat turbulent windy day while landing the family Cherokee 180 on the approach in the picture, I got hit with a very substantial downdraft immediately after clearing that one big tree at the very end of the runway. That treetop is about 120ft above the touchdown area. Everything not secured in the plane hit the ceiling and stayed there for a second. I immediately went full power Vx and rode it all the way deep into ground effect. At that point it's commit to land on that runway which is exactly what happened next.

Safe flying everyone...

 

[John J]

I have had several and they are as vivid today as they were when they happened.

Engine loss in a Beech 18 on a very warm night I was copilot and my turn to fly. Lost engine at 800 feet and nursed it around to land. Easy does it, don't work it hard. I lost lots of fluid from sweat and my left leg gave out when I got off the plane.

IFR descent with controller calling traffic at 12 and closing, altitude unknown. As I came to where I was pop eye a Cessna 150 passed by by a 100 feet off the left wing. contoller said I was the only IFR plane in the area. I shook after the landing.

Generator failed 20 miles from home plate at night. Had my mother hold the controls as I cranked the gear down. The weather was great and best of all my mother did a great job of holding altitude. I just turned 18 and it was her 3rd cross country with me. Could not put the flaps down for they were electric. It was an early 1951 Bonanza with electric prop. Those electric props and tube radios use up the battery real fast. My mother thought it was a great flight.

John J

 

[bbchien]

Bruce: I know the way you maintain your airplanes...how did that happen despite your very-high-maintenance standards?
QUOTE]

The turbo bullet mooney from Ken Shoup had all kinds of shortcuts taken with it, including unbenounced to me, the leaving in of the old fiber exhaust gaskets. Seems to get that bird up to snuff would eventually have had to dissassemble it piece by piece, which I eventually did at engine top (650 hours). Bruce Jaeger eventually took it apart, piece by piece. The list of discrepancies was amazing.

Sold it eventually and bought the Seneca, which was a double runout...dissembled at annual. I went though, for that Mooney, what you did for the 310.

 

[ausrere]

Other than the crash where I was a passenger in Ruidoso (posted in another post), mine would be during my first solo X-country when the flaps got a mind of their own. I'm on final to my second stop on a three leg X-country and they decided to go from 30 to 0 to 20 to 10 and back to 0 again all by themselves pausing a little (very little) in between changes. Scared the living daylights out of me! Not as exciting as the rest of you, but when you are a barely double digit hours student, it's exciting enough!

 

[L10MAN]

Been lucky so far with no in flight scares. Did have one on the ground though. Was doing a power run on an L1011 after we changed#3 engine. One of the tests was for bleed air. All three ac packs are turned on. Out in LA it is not unusual to get fogging out of the ac ducts as we were this night. The only thing was the air smelled like Jet A. About that time we lost all three engine generators. With the loss of electrical power the engines automatically go to flight idle and you are unable to shut the engines down. Finally got power back on and shut down the engines. Had fuel dripping out of the airconditioning heat exchangers. When they over hauled the engine they crossed a fuel nozzel line with a high press bleed air line. We absolutly filled that plane with jet A fumes. Why it didn't blow up is beyond me.
Ron

 

[Henning]

There I was...sorry, couldn't help it.

Slide in over the numbers on 20, left wheel down, right wheel down, main wheel down still holding in full left ailerons....

WHOA...my ass end is lifting up! (Remember that cold front that was supposed to be here 3 hours later?) It's called wind shear and a gust came out of the (I think the) SW and lifted the tail, and the right wheel started to come off the ground. All I could see is asphalt in the windscreen. I pulled the yoke back as hard as I could all the way to the stop, .

Please don't take offense at this, but since you don't mention it, I am inclined to ask, Did anyone tell you that that was a mistake? If a gusting wind from behind is lifting your tail you go full forward on the controls. There's an old taildragger taxi mantra that crosses to nose draggers as well, "Climb into the wind, dive away from the wind". If you look at your tailplane from the rear, it becomes clear, that input actions have reversed reactions when the wind comes from behind.