What is your "oh Sh*t" moment?

[altimaklr]

Most pilots I know have at one time or another survived something harrowing and defied Mr. Darwin. What's the one time when you did/experienced something that scared, freaked, or taught you something.

 

[bobbysamd]

Here's mine

The following is a reprint from a similar discussion last spring.

I was demonstrating a maximum performance landing at Fort Pierce, Florida in a Seminole for two students. One was flying and the other was observing from the back. Tower was giving instructions to a linguistically-challanged Baron, who was circling north of the field and wanted a landing clearance. The tower had pointed out a Cherokee that cut in front of us and which we had in sight. The Controller kept asking the Baron if he had us. He said he did not. The tower told him repeatedly to turn downwind. This moron did not. He converged on us from the right at our altitude. When it became clear that he might midair us, I reduced power and dived as this "pilot" passed overhead. My students, from Italy, estimated 20 meters of separation. I estimated 50 feet.

This gets better (?!?). Tower told the Baron to set up for another runway, but he set up behind us for our runway. Tower kept telling us he was about to eat up our Six. We landed safely. So did this guy.

Bad enough that he near-misses us the first time. We had him in sight. The second segment was far more frightening because he was on our Six and was not in sight.

This whole deal scared me sh--- - well, you can well imagine the type of excrement.

Without a doubt, others who instruct in Florida can relate similar experiences.

 

[ShawnC]

Well for me its going to be forgetting my DL, I have more than once driven accross the state without (I didn't get pulled over thankfully), gonna suck for ramp checks.

 

[Clearsky]

One real close call, a head-on about 50 feet apart. It happened too fast to be scared though. Sorry, not enough hours for anything more harrowing

 

[00Dog]

Taking-off through a dust devil.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Our Brasilia had been loaded nose-heavy all day long...just coincidence. Before every leg, after we "spun the wheel" (W/B calculator), I was having to ask the flight attendant to move two or three people from "A" (the forward cabin) to "C" (rear of the cabin). It became routine.

Now we load up for the last leg of the day, and lo and behold, we're actually tail-heavy. So, I call the F/A and ask her to move some people.

Guess what I told her.

About ten knots under V1/Vr, the nose rose and we popped off the ground. My F/O, who was flying, had the yoke darned near against the instrument panel to keep the airspeed in the ballpark. I immediately realized I had moved payload the wrong direction and made the situation worse.

After we were stable, I called the F/A and asked her to very politely ask those people we'd moved to return to their original seats. Everything was fine after they moved...but when the F/A made her way to the back to talk to those folks, that S.O.B. Brasilia started to wallow, and I swear I could feel a nibble of a buffett.

It wasn't until we got to the hotel that my hands started shaking. I didn't make that mistake again!

 

[uavchaser]

heres mine

had the exhaust collector fall off on the 210 if fly during a go around. lost almost all power and smoke filled the cockpit, aborted go around and landed safely(jammed on the brakes), HOLY SH*T I was shaking for about 2 hours afterwards.

Had a plane come between me and the UAV (while in formation) I could tell the guy was wearing David Clark 13.4's (thats how close).

thats all i can remember for now

 

[JCJ]

Bird Strike

on a/p 6500 ft - solo, vfr, looking out the window at the clouds, talking to God, or something (maybe i was daydreaming) - LOUD "thud", oh s***, realized i was still flying, instruments all looked ok, flight controls ok, then saw blood and feathers on windscreen on copilot's side

no damage, landed safely but definitely got my attention

 

[Jetsnake]

My 3rd wife saying,
"I want a DIVORCE"

You have to love aviation...

"NEXT"

Jetsnake

 

[RightPedal]

One day a CFI friend of mine was working with my boss to get his tailwheel transition in my airplane. We were on our way back home. CFI in back seat, boss in left seat. Crossing the end of a private grass strip owned by another friend, CFI says, pull the power see if he can make the field. Well I did, boss started left turn and says, we can't make the field, it's to short, so I say sure we can, I have the airplane. Well the next mistake was to bank hard left and pull to bring the nose around while holding that left rudder down. Well, you know what most dummys do to compensate for overbanking? Yep, bring in some right aileron. I forget what you call it but it did it. In a small part of a second I was in a full stall, nose pointed straight into a tall oak tree at the end of the runway at somewhere about 200agl. Let go of the controls, full power, start the round out and made a beautiful wheel landing at about 50 indicated, killed the power and rolled to a stop right in front of a hanger full of onlookers.
Well, those old men proceeded to ream my boss a new one. My CFI buddy bailed and headed straight for the mens room. These men were all retired military and airline pilots with probably 100,000 hours between them. These guys knew me and I was left with no choice but to tell the truth or get the crap stomped out of me. Moral of the story. If your going to do something stupid, make sure you do it by yourself and don't let anybody see you do it.

 

[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.

 

[Delta3]

The day before my PPL checkride I almost ran the plane off the runway. I was drifting right of centerline on touchdown and hit the left rudder too hard. After full pitch down and a whole lot of smoke I stopped.

After I parked I burnt my hands when I touched the brakes.

But luckily for me my DE, who was at the airport at the time didn't see me.

 

[414Flyer]

When I was a student getting my takeoff and landings at a towered airport, Sheppard AFB, and was supposed to stay below 2300' since T-38s own from 2500 up. I forgot about it , and noticed I was 2500'..oh **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**..looked around...saw a T-38 at my 7, and not much higher at all. Very very close...a big OH **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**.

When doing a tour flight in Hawaii, just offshore of the Waimea and waipio valleys north of Hilo..Was at about 1000', broadcasting postion reports, and was pretty close to the waterfalls. Then another C-172, not on the radio, goes in between me and the waterfalls, at our altitude.

Again in Hawaii, going around past Hilo from Kiluaea, got really socked in, low ceilings, bad vis. Ceilings got lower and lower, and my biggest concern was not hitting the 1,000 high cliffs, so I stayed off shore a couple miles, and down to 400' and couldnt see **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** except for ocean. Do I go closer to the coast, and hope i do not hit anything, or do I stay a couple miles offshore but lose all coastline reference? I did the later. Finally after a while it got better and I rounded the north point for Kona.

While flying an empty leg from FAR to MSP to get freight in a Seneca...started icing really bad. Started at 7k..tried 9k..stilll icing..tried 5k..still icing..Got about an inch or so, down to 120kias, and only halfway there. came close to diverting and or declaring an emergency going into the closest runway I could find. Luckily the icing stopped and I was able to continue and land at MSP.

 

[flywithruss]

I've had a couple of ice encounters ... one over northern Arkansas in a Cessna, and another over southern PA in a Cherokee. Both times the briefers swore up and down to me there was no ice along my route. Another fun one was some nice windshear in Teterboro about a year ago ... I'm going in with an A36 Bonanza to pick up some folks and do the ILS 6, circle to land runway 1, I'm following a G-IV. The Gulfstream reports windshear on the final to 1 ... thirty knot loss followed by a 20 knot gain between 300' and the deck. Got it down, but it was a bumpy ride.

 

[uavchaser]

another one

took me almost an hour to find my airplane registration after landing in San Felipe Mexico. Oh sh*t where did I put it!! Ended up paying overtime fees too because i came in late and they had to wait.

 

[Majik]

Flying single-pilot in IMC at 17,000' when I encountered unforecast icing. It was the 1st time I was able to use the de-ice boots (ice must build to 1/4" before you were supposed to inflate the boots).
My 1st reaction was, "Good, I'll finally be able to use those boots and see how this stuff works."
Exercised the boots, and the ice shed off the leading edge. I noticed my airspeed had dropped significantly so I added some power. Looked back out to the wings and noticed that it was time to inflate those boots again. Looked back at the ol' airspeed indicator and discovered I'm just above stall speed, Add max power. Say to myself, "This ain't right, is it?" Look back outside and see it's time to exercise those boots again. Back inside, the airspeed is continuing to slowly drop. Get on the radio and request an immediate descent. Controller replies, "What altitude would you like?" My reply, "One that is above the freezing level, cuz I'm iced up and unable to hold altitude!"
Luckily I was able to descend to 10,000' and let the ice melt while I tried to regain my composure. Always been a little leary of ice since then.

 

[tarp]

Let's see:

#1 Albion / Berlin NJ in a C-172 some 25 years ago. Basically let 2,000 ft of a 2500ft runway slip under the nose before I decided to land. I can still see that split rail fence and the grain in the wood as my prop spinner stopped about 12 inches away. The FBO just said "nice landing" after I had pushed the airplane back onto the tarmac and tied it down.

#2 Over Albany NY in a non-icing approved aircraft at 10,000ft, not realizing that 9,000 ft of lake effect clouds, snow and ice had slipped under me with about 65 kts of wind from the West. I was just fat, dumb and happy until I realized there were no more holes to the east, I was running out of fuel and couldn't make any point west (like back to Scranton) because of the great tailwinds I had. I am writing this note but not saying anything about how much ice was on that airplane when I landed.

#3 Having Baltimore tower give me a phone # to call - seems like they had built this new airspace called the Baltimore Washington Area TCA and I hadn't really called them soon enough. Geez, they only had to move one B-737 around me! Funny thing - I was based at BWI at the time - oh well.

#4 The first time the hot section on the jet engine let loose.

Not bad for almost 30 years of flying.

 

[jsoceanlord]

1) took off from a rural airport at night in a ce 172. there was a light in the distance that i thought was a plane entering the landing pattern. i was going to pass under it. we were almost level with this light - which was a farm house.

2)carb ice crossing the rockies in a ce 180

3)being lost at night in a piper cub and out of gas and heading for the nearest light, thinking it's a gas station near which to force land, and it's the airport.

4)being cocky after flying night freight in the rockies and taking off into a caribbean storm, thinking it's nothing, and not being able to see far enough to taxi in after landing.

5)trying to release a banner and having it hang up and fly between a couple tall trees.

6)dropping like an elevator in the mountains north of los angeles while 100 mph winds were blowing

7)taking off with sky divers in otay mesa, near san diego, when the winds were easterly and the cessna jump planes were groundfed. only the helio courier i was in could take off towards the mountains, which wecleard by 30 feet.

 

[JediNein]

1. Hour 499.9, I'm riding passenger, right seat, in a P210. I've had 2 hours of CFII training two months previous, and was almost of legal IFR currency. The pilot whiggs out thinking the autopilot or flight instruments are whigging out in IMC. Trim at the stops, 2000+ fpm down, almost at redline airspeed, well over 180 degrees off heading before I was able to get the pilot off the controls. Didn't hear ATC screaming at us 'til passing through 500' below assigned altitude.

2. Hmmm, putting the landing gear down in a Piper Arrow will assist in regaining control 7000' AGL and 7000' below the base of the cloud. The cloud had airliners diverting through a nearby state (Arizona), as it maxed out at Level 4. (One nasty TS)

3. I'm riding chief check pilot in the backseat watching two check pilots go at each other. On takeoff the check pilot flying overrotates and loud scraping noises are heard. Hit three times before I got the check pilot not flying's attention and he aborted the takeoff.

4. Giving a ground lesson while a T210 does two go-arounds outside. I ended the lesson when I saw the wingip touch on the third attempt. The tower evacuated when the ammo in the back of the aircraft exploded in the fire, no survivors in the aircraft.

5. Student pilot with less than ten hours, almost dark. I look up and see a big twin in an almost vertical bank with a green light on top. I bank hard left scaring the CFI shhless. He looked up to see his life flash before his eyes. The only reason I banked left instead of right was that green light.

6. Piper Arrow, a former UND craft, practicing landings for the commercial, solo, and hear this terrible noise on touchdown plus a start of a groundloop. already too slow to abort. The parking brake had slipped on. Maintenance records show several unresolved complaints about the parking brake engaging during flight.

The little things like door openings, instrument failures, electrical failures, system failures, and like in IMC or VMC don't bother me anymore. I guess you grow immune after enough exposure.

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein

 

[Typhoon1244]

Scary moment for a new-hire Brasilia F/O on his first trip: I'm standing on the ramp, waiting for the previous crew to get off the airplane, when our flight attendant, whom I'll call "Jay" (rhymes with his real name) walks up, extends a hand and introduces himself. But between the earplugs, all the APU's running around us, jets taking off and landing nearby, and my nervousness, it sure sounded to me like he said "hi, I'm gay."

I shook his hand--in a manly way, of course--thinking, "hmm, they didn't cover this in basic indoc...."

 

[mckpickle]

You know how there are guys who go through their entire career without anything EVER happening? Well I'm the other guy. I think the worst I ever had was departing out of Newark on a crappy rainy day. Giving IOE to a new hire. Got a FWD smoke warning about 5 seconds after lift off but it lasted less than a second. About 2-3 minutes later the #1 oil pressure started fluxuating. Then the cockpit started filling with smoke. I took the plane and had the FO run the air conditioning smoke check. In the 5 seconds that I turned to talk to the Flight Attendant the FO had run the wrong checklist and turned off just about everything electrical while IMC. Anyway, with the bleeds off the smoke went away and it seemed the problem was solved. 2 minutes later, the oil pressure started acting up again, the low oil pressure warning, then #1 engine fire warning. Somehow we got our heads out of our A$$es and made it alive. Learned a lot that day.

Funny thing, My FA and I had to commute home. I drove her to her house and had to carry her in. When I got to my apartment My legs hurt SO bad 6 hours after the fact, that I had to crawl on my hands and knees up 2 flights of stairs.

I dont know if Im becoming hardened or what but my last aborted Take off my blodd pressure didnt even rise.

You always wonder how you will react in an emergency, and sometimes even want to see yourself in action. I now know, and have no wish to ever have to see it again.