What is your "oh Sh*t" moment?

[CF34-3B1]

Parked at the gate, about to board to leave for a nice long overnight in Savannah.

My F/A, who I had been dating for a while, leaned into the cockpit and whispered into my ear how she wanted me to fly fast so we could "get to the hotel room sooner...."

Everything was going perfectly, until I looked across the ramp and saw the scariest thing I've ever seen in my entire aviation career.

My wife walking out to the airplane.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Halfway across the pond when we realized we forgot the perdiem checks!

 

[katanabob]

I had been dating this girl off and on for about a year and made the mistake (the first and hopefully only time) of becoming a passenger while in the cockpit with her. Yes, she had a license and yes, she was current but no, she should not have been considered PIC for the 15 minutes during which my eyes were closed.
Whatever dream I was having was pretty good, until I was awoken by a shriek, a 'you got it!' and the whistle of a stall warning. Upon waking, I processed several vital pieces of data simultaneously- (yes, I am a multitasker) 1. It's night time. 2. That's funny, the airspeed shows zero but the landing didn't wake me UHH3. That's because we're about a hundred feet above the approach end of the runway. Have you ever flown one of those stubby-winged Grummans? Ever done slow flight in one?
I aggressively ran in the throttle and yoke as far forward as they would go, and about a potato and a half later returned the toke to the aft stop. The stall warning horn sounded a quarter second before the hardest landing I'd survived yet. I swore we should have blown a tire or ripped off a gear leg or maybe died, but not a scratch was evident.
I looked over and she was laughing. Thankfully I didn't hurl or beat her severely, though both actions were hot on my mind.

 

[jbDC9]

My big "oh crap" moment was during a takeoff in a 310, had the right prop hub crack open and shed 2 of the 3 blades; one went thru the nose and the other flung into outer space I think. The engine was loose in the mounts and the nose had a great big hole through it. Got it back on the ground, but the old dog was totalled, hauled it away on a truck. I was a wee bit scared on that one.

John

 

[AV1ATRX]

Mine was when I was flying frieght. I was on the single engine run of the day, loaded to up to max weight, when half-way to destination, for some unknown reason, all my bags slide all the way into the tail. 850 lbs of checks are now as far back as they can go. No turbulence that day, either. I had tightened the straps as tight as I could possibly get them, so I never did figure out why they got loose. Miracles upon miracles happened that flight. I am a woman of faith and I firmly believe that I was kept alive by a higher power that day - I got cleared for a straight in about 20 miles out at a Class B airport where that NEVER happens. I never told them what I had going on. I landed in a full stall on the runway and dragged my tail onto the GA ramp. NO damage. Like I said, miracles happened that day. During the event I was scared but never lost, but on the way home I cried. Just a little, mostly from the adrenaline, I think. I don't need to experience that again...

 

[TXCAP4228]

Fortunately, mine wasn't something that could affect the safety of the flight - and I still laugh about it. I had just landed and tied the airplane down after a burger run with a return trip at night. It was close to 11pm I guess. Walking out to my car, I reached in my pocket and found the car keys for the FBO courtesy car...

I'm lucky enough not to have had a serious problem in flight. (There I go tempting fate...)

 

[Slim]

Gaithersburg, MD...1986...I'm in a Bonanza A36. I'm monitoring CTAF and announce entry to left downwind, landing 13. As I roll out, there'a a 172 in the right downwind for 31! I execute a hard right 90 degrees, getting out of the downwind. My passenger, also a pilot asks me what's going on. I tell him fast enough that he sees the airplane on final for 31 and gets the tail #. We later find out the pilot was a student, first solo and talking to the instructor on the ground on a different frequency than CTAF.

The FBO there knew who it was and the CFI didn't last much longer.

 

[wingnutt]

scared/freaked/or taught you something? well dunno about y'all, but im learnin' something all the dam time...sometimes whether i want to or not. and as for scared...very rarely, then again dont we all learn something after being scared?

lost a fuel cap...doing a cross country, and between the two "competent" pilots, we both assumed that the other had done the pre-flight after landing and getting fuel before returning home. fortunately it was in a duchess with the wet-wing and we lost no fuel.

alternator burned out...hauling freight in a sigle at night. you know, one of those pitch black nights that you could log as IMC, even though there wasnt a cloud in sight? lost all battery power just as i reached the 30nm Class B, which was home.

stuck throttle (wide open)...didnt find the anomoly until short final (stage cooling? no such thing when the freight is late) this one was a bit freaky, but not bad.

lost right engine...50' off the runway with what loooked like not enough runway to stop safely. after reviewing the lanscape (taking off to the south in ADS) and seeing nothing but tall buildings, i found out there was in fact, enough room to land and stop, although the "safely" part may be in question. upon landing, a missing seat cover was noticed.

hail...between cloud layers, minding my own business. T-storms to the left and right, trying to sneak between cells (gotta love freight, dontcha?). next thing you know sounded like the entire marching band was practicing their drums on the airframe. it was loud enough that i slunk down in the seat in case the windscreen coudnt take it. heres the question, once youre in it, do you turn around, or motor on through? i chose the latter, and although it only lasted about a minute and a half, it caused just under $8,000 in damage...all lights blown out, ALL leading edges were destroyed, any fiberglass parts were GONE, and the seat cover was mysteriously missing yet again. we wont go into the questionable fixes MX found for the leading edge problems *ACHOO-bondo-BLESS ME*

Level 4 embedded...now this was a fun evening. my first full IFR flight (takeoff to landing) 850# of freight and 100% bulk, no radar, no GPS, 2 VORs and a DME. weather brief told of a line of Tstorms (level 2 and 3) from mexico to oklahoma. guess where my airport was, you got it, just on the other side if the line. well, during the hour it took to get there, the level 3 turned to a 4 and 5 with embedded. severe turbulence, 700fpm downdrafts, lightning bright enough that it took needed seconds to get vision back to see you were now 700 feet low and 35 degrees off course. long story short, ive decided that Level 3 is my limit.

so scared? yea, once or twice. but learning? ...all the time

 

[flywithastick]

I was departing GLS in my RV from the downwind leg, abeam the threshold once when I spotted a -172 off my right wing, making some kind of goofy pattern entry. No time for anything but an abrupt neg g pushover. Would have re-kitted my kit plane at 1000 agl if I'd missed seeing that idiot another second.

Several others close encounters at 100-200' apart, but not requiring radical evasive action.

 

[FL000]

New hire IOE, trip number two. We were at the farthest outstation (at the time) from ATL. Routine ramp check...but my cert was in my wallet in my car in the parking lot in ATL. That was a big O.S. Fortunately, both the IOE capt. and the Fed were cool about it and nothing happened to me, but the lesson was learned anyway.