Have you ever been on a scary turbulent flight?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I'm curious what it was like? I've been on quite bumpy flights before, but the flight attendants always looked fine/ bored, so I wasn't worried and just kept watching whatever film. But I'm lucky as have no fear of flying in general, so perhaps easy for me to dismiss it.

Has anyone been on a really frightening flight where you were worried things might deteriorate? Did you get on a plane again after?

Years ago trying to land at JFK in a thunderstorm, I was terrified. There was a nun sitting across the aisle and I contemplated climbing over everyone to sit next to her, just in case .
Everyone clapped when we landed, I cried

When the plane finally levelled off the pilot came on and said we hit turbulence during take off

It was possibly wake turbulence from the plane that took off in front of you @999Alex.

It happened to me too and it was doubly terrifying compared to turbulence in the air as we weren't far off the ground. The plane just suddenly tipped to one side and dropped out of the air, shaking and bouncing. It felt like we'd been punched out of the sky. It seemed like forever for the pilot to get control and for the plane to start ascending again. Everybody fell silent, as if they were holding their breath.

The pilot came on the PA to reassure everyone and explain that we had been caught in turbulence from another plane taking off. At which point, my companion piped up, "Like that plane in New York that crashed last month," (the one that crashed a couple of months after 911). As soon as he said it, the plane dropped again. This time the luggage racks fell open, bags were hitting the floor and the lady behind us started screaming hysterically and people started crying until the pilot managed to get us back on course again.

I don't think anyone said another word until we had stopped ascending and levelled out. It was like someone had flicked a switch when the cabin crew finally stood up after take off and people dared to speak again.

@forinborin

Unfortunately a lady two rows in front was having a full on panic attack and ended up being sedated by the crew. Do they actually have an authority to do this? I mean, I don't doubt your words, just that seems quite risky. On the other hand, mass panic on board is probably riskier.

The airline I worked for did have medicine for anxiety, but it wouldn’t be given out willy nilly. We would always seek advice from the doctors/experts we have at the end of the radio to help us. They’re a company that advise most airlines and know exactly what training the crew have and what drugs/equipment is onboard. And we’d try other avenues to calm someone first. I’ve sat with many a frightened passenger during turbulence.

Equally we’d seek advice, give pain relief, immobilise the limb and carry on for a broken leg. Normally diversions only happen for very serious conditions.

And in 25 years of flying ive only had two remotely serious incidents of turbulence. Moderate “chop” doesn’t bother crew. It’s a moment of calm for us! Having to secure the galleys and strap is annoying as it disrupts the service (and our rest!).

I've been on quite a few. I find it fun though, not scary.

Turbulence from my flight from Cuba back to Manchester. Was a 7 hour flight and most of it was bad turbulence, I’m a nervous flyer as it is and was crying my eyes out as thought I was going to die tbh. I now won’t step foot on another plane ever and regularly have nightmares about being in a plane crash.

And I never heard of strait jackets. Or cable ties! We had handcuffs and straps to keep handcuffed people seated.

Coming up out of Christchurch NZ the crew were handing out headsets etc and suddenly the tannoy was blasting Emergency Emergency. The crew just carried on, then eventually one of them said, Yes, there's something wrong with the system!

Earlier in NZ, flying in a tiny plane from Queenstown to the Milford Sound, it was gloriously bumpy, the snow covered peaks were very very close, we seemed to be flying between them. It reminded me of a Bond film where he's struggling with the joy stick to get over the mountains.

Yes. It was TERRIFYING! But apparently it's rare for a catastrophic crash to happen from turbulence. It was so lurchy, though, you know that queasy feeling you get on rollercoasters?

The only time I ever got sick on a plane it was a prop plane, though.

@Honeyroar
Interesting, thank you! I assume medication is for the longer haul flights? Because it presumably takes some time to take effect, so pretty much useless for 1-2 hour flights?

Coming back from Egypt. It was so turbulent that they abandoned food service and the crew strapped in. There was a woman a couple of rows back praying hysterically and for some reason they turned the cabin late gets off which made it very surreal.

The worst I remember had the cabin crew appear genuinely scared, physiological pale reaction which surprised me as I'd expect they'd have seen it all. They heard an unusual variant of the message from the flight crew, possibly 'Cabin Crew to their seats immediately'?, dropped everything and ran to their seats which were near me. It lasted around 20 minutes. A couple of passengers visible to me ignored the repeated instructions to buckle up and bounced off the 'ceiling' and ended up bleeding from head injuries after the worst drop which lasted c10-20 seconds? Afterwards, the flight crew announced they didn't really know what happened as it hadn't appeared on the RADAR. I heard one of the pilots say this had the largest drop in altitude they'd experienced.

Once landed in an airport with horrific cross winds, it was pretty scary. When we left the plane I said to the pilot how scary it was, he said I should have seen it from where he was sitting.

On my first trip overseas when I was 18, I flew back from Greece and it was really bumpy. There was an older gent sitting next to me who was Greek and spoke no English. I must have been obviously scared as he took my hand and patted it til it was over. Such a lovely gesture and it really helped.

Yes over years ago coming home to one of the London airports. High winds and turbulence. Then when we came into land and nearing the runway, the plane suddenly started to climb and pilot made a detour to somewhere else, like Birmingham. We all clapped when we landed safely.

@TotheletterofthelawTHELETTER

Coming back from New York we flew into Heathrow then on to Manchester. The crew from the transatlantic flight were passengers on the connecting flight and were in the row in front of me. On attempting landing at Manchester there was a massive gust of wind that blew the plane sideways and the pilot had to take it up again. It was terrifying but no-one seemed too bothered. Attempted landing again and plane was being seriously buffeted, lockers popping open. The American crew in the row in front started muttering to each other and I heard one of them comment that they wouldn’t even attempt landing in these conditions. We went back up again and had to circle for a while and it was awful, so bumpy and the side winds were bad. The crew were talking about how the plane should divert and one started talking about never having experienced a landing like this. Which obviously worries me as they’re professionals. We landed ok but I still hate flying into Manchester now.

I was long haul crew and regularly took short haul flights up to Manchester afterwards. The little aircraft bounce around so much more than the bigger long haul ones. Plus they often go sideways into the wind on the approach at Manchester then straighten up at the last minute. It felt quite stressful for someone used to long haul aircraft, I must admit, but it happened so often I knew it was normal.

• Over 30 years ago

Yes, quite a few. I worked in air repatriation and there were some occasions I’d be concerned that we’d picked someone up, who was already ill or injured, to get them safely home and the plane was going to crash.

Yes took off in a storm,
Flight took off them bumper back on the runway before taking off again...
Severe turbluence as the sky turned literally black outside the window, stuff fell out of the overhead bins, flight attendants looked terrified.
Was fairly brief but put me off ryanair.

Another time flying over Indonesia Qantas plane shook around fairly violently-
Again quite brief but I’ll never forget the captain coming on and saying very sternly “everyone back in their seats with seatbelts on. IMMEDIATELY”. He def sounded quite panicked.

I’m not crazy about turbulence but I can handle it. Was on a plane once that did an aborted landing. I absolutely shit myself. Took them ages to come on over the PA system and tell us that the reason was because the plane that had landed in front of us hadn’t cleared the runway yet, so we had to go back up.

Based on this thread, I officially cross out Manchester from the list of places to ever fly into - seems to be mentioned most often.
I also don't remember which airport in Europe it was (had been 20+ years now), but for some reason the take off always felt almost vertical there. Prague perhaps?

Several times. But I have to fly to see family. And because I lov travelling under normal circumstances.

One turbulent period lasted several hours somewhere over Central Asia. Cabin crew did not even take our trays, just disappeared.

Once we flew into Germany during a named storm and similarly to PP's experience, cabin crew was told to strap themselves in and they did so immediately. The clouds were scary. That pilot is still my absolute hero. I had way worse landings.

Landings at Brussels and Bristol airport are a bit bumpy whenever I go.

Every single time I’ve crossed the Atlantic, which has been many. Awful, awful turbulence where the plane is bouncing around and people are vomiting all over the place and things are smashing. I always look at the stewards’ faces. A couple of times they’ve looked worried, which is deeply unsettling.

Yes two memorable ones.

First one long haul. I used to be a very frequent business flyer and turbulence didn’t bother me, on this one, it was a very bumpy flight and the passenger next to me had a terrible fear of flying.

She was crying snd kept telling me how we were going to die. I was trying to comfort her, holding her hand, but fuck me, by the end of it, she had me believing her, she was that hysterical I started to think she might be right. It honestly took me about a year to loose the fear of turbulence I developed from spending a few hours next to that woman and listening to her trying to convince me we were going to crash.

Second one, a sea plane in the Maldives. Terrible weather, the pilot was trying to fly round it, eventually had to land it next to a pontoon in the ocean and a boat came to get us. I found it absolutely and utterly terrifying.

Landings at Brussels and Bristol airport are a bit bumpy whenever I go.
From the UK airports, London City feels the most anxiety-provoking. Or maybe it is because it is mainly used by smaller aircraft, and as someone said upthread, these are more wobbly.

Shudders at the thought of small planes.

Lots of pretty grim turbulence, aborted landings etc... but the only one that I remember being genuinely terrifying was a flight out of Kai Tak in Hong Kong (where we lived at the time) in the late 80s when I was 8ish? It was a typhoon 7, about to turn into an 8, so basically a hurricane.

I remember the pilot announcing that if we didn't go now we wouldn't be going, so to be ready for a rough ride. The cabin crew taped all the overhead lockers down - I always think there's no need to worry on a flight unless the cabin crew look concerned, and they definitely looked worried!

My parents were trying to make light of it for me and my sister, but my mum has since said that she was convinced that we were going to die. There was lots of shaking and the lights flashing etc, but we made it out and had a nice holiday