When was your first scare?

My first piloting scare was as a new pilot doing a glassy water landing on a familiar lake. It was a flat approach with a high bank and hill on the far side. The error was flying into a setting sun. No biggie until I crossed the shoreline, then glare killed any forward view. Waiting, waiting.... where's the water? Where's that damn high bank and how close am I to it, all the time knowing I'm flying blind right at it. I got tired (scared) of waiting and chopped power. I must not have been very high but the plop down was followed by very rapid deceleration and an aggressive pitching forward. But I didn't hit the bank or hill by either landing long or trying to go around. I shouldn't have landed on glassy water into the low sun. Lesson learned.
 
Was a sudent pilot, decided to go out and do pattern work and gonna start with a soft field take off in a 152. I have the yoke all the way back, announce to tower I'm holding short of the runway and ready for departure. I'm ready to roll onto the rwy with yoke back and apply throttle as soon as I get the clearance...they tell me to line up and wait instead. Bummer.

No biggie, line up and wait. I get tired of holding the yoke back and so I release it. A little wait, then they give me the cleared for take off. Throttle full forward. I start rolling.

Ooops, forgot I was doing soft field take off...I yank the yoke to its stops and immediately I'm off the ground, stall horn blaring, no way I'm fast enough to be flying, but the nose is off the runway and the mains are too. All I thought about was that I filled the tanks and it's gonna be a tremendous fireball. Sheer terror for those of you who know what I mean.

So I go completely flat on the attitude and my wing dips left and I straighten it out, but I'm now at a 45 to the taxiway with 3 planes lined up. Man am I gonna be able to stay airborne?

Plane builds up speed, I try to stay aligned with the rwy, and am wondering should I just do one circuit and land and go home? I decided on final I would do one T&G to get back on the horse. Did so and went home.

I was in ground effect barely at 35-40 kts or so, and the 45 degree left crosswind and a gust had done a number at the exact same time I hopped the plane off the runway with my idiocy. Tower came on with a wind check after I straightened it out and said something like 12 gusting to 17.

I should have had more focus during the line up and wait, and considered the crosswind more, which I had not. The gust was not in the METAR until after I hit the throttle though.

5 sentences? Really?
 
My first takeoff from Sandia Crest in a hang glider, ten steps and then off a cliff. The takeoff altitude is 4,400' higher than the landing area, with lots of granite in between.

As soon as I took off, I laid out prone in the harness and turned left. Then I hit a big thermal, which pitched the nose up and almost pulled the control bar out of my hands.

I was in a stall, about 100' above the trees along the ridgeline. Now it had been drilled into my head that airspeed equaled life, and I immediately pitched the nose down. Like way down.

I was actually looking at individual trees (spruce, aspen, aspen, spruce, etc.) as I got closer and closer. When the glider started flying again I pitched up, conveniently into another thermal, and continued flying along the ridge.

Those few seconds scared the livin' **** outta me. :D
 
My first heart stopping moment came during my first solo cross country. It was a warm October day, and I was already on edge considering I was venturing out on my own for the first time. I had about 44 hours in the book at the time and while cruising along at 3500, I saw a green ribbon like thing fly by about 30 feet off my right wing. I immediately started wondering if there was a tethered balloon or something that I missed in flight planning. I don't think my heart stopped pounding until I landed safely and called my instructor. After I told him about it, he said oh yeah it was probably a corn shuck. He said it happens during harvest time. The shucks get kicked up into the wind and ride a thermal. I still am shocked they get up to 3500 feet.
 
I had the seatbelt thing happen.
Was with my CFI, taking off from MYF and BANGBANGBANG on climbout...what the hell is that!?!

CFI calmly replies, "seatbelt" and when I realized what I'd done, recovered the belt, and continued the climb, CFI says just as calmly, "checklist." Meaningful eye contact drove that point home.

Electrical failure on first long cross-country, solo, and return night flight thru LAX class bravo is another story.
 
On my way back from KBID to KISP at 4500 over CCC, I see 2 parachutes 100 feet dead ahead, same altitude. They came out of nowhere. I could almost see one guy mouthing "oh S#@*". Scared the you know what out of me, and I'm sure the jumpers. Now when I hear "jumpers away", I give them a really wide berth.
 
My first real scare was around 40-45 hours. Working on X-wind landings with an instructor at 7B3 Hampton (2100 ft with trees on both ends). our direct crosswind shifted to a tailwind as I rotated, so we climbed about 10 ft and just settled in there. it probably only lasted 3 seconds, but I decided we weren't going to make it over the trees so I pulled power, settled back on the runway, and braked as hard as I could without locking them up. we sat on the taxiway for a few minutes so my heart could drop from my throat!
 
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