Weird History Readers Share Worst Flying Experiences

From a Facebook commenterCathy Jenkins:

Going to Venezuela. A five-year-old boy kicked the back of my seat the whole flight. I asked him to stop repeatedly. His father did nothing.

From a Facebook commenterJulia Baker Bell:

I was the student pilot. I flew solo. Weather changed. I got lost in the air with 3-mile visibility. The Air Traffic controllers were fired by President Ronald Reagan. New, unqualified ATCs took over.

They guided me to a local international airport. I was used to small airfields. This made the front page of the Sunday newspaper with a cartoon drawing. That was a horrible experience. The jokes at work on Monday morning: STUDENT PILOT LOST IN THE AIR.

From a Facebook commenterMark Brommer:

Flying into Las Vegas with my wife. On approach, the plane dropped 10,000 feet. That was the only time I thought we would crash. Everyone on the plane screamed.

From a Facebook commenterCathi Roush-Myers:

A long flight to Korea via Japan. The flight was delayed. Then, a minor plane crash happened on the runway, so we diverted to another airport. Once we reached the right airport, the connecting flight left without us. A tsunami or hurricane stranded us at the airport for days.

From a Facebook commenterBill Laccarino:

I flew twice on Delta. I was heading to Texas when we hit bad turbulence. It was a small commuter plane with one flight attendant. The pilot told her to sit, and her seat was where the cockpit door is. She took out rosary beads and started to pray. I thought we would die.

The second flight was also on Delta. The man next to me in the middle seat (I was in the window seat) took off his shoes and socks. He put them on the seat in front of him and started picking his toes with the plastic fork.

From a Facebook commenterBonnie Dean Roschy:

We flew Turkish Air to Germany. We needed to change planes in Turkey. Someone pulled me aside and took me across the room. Everyone else went to the next plane. After fifteen minutes and a careful search of my carry-on, they escorted me back to the boarding line. They said nothing. I felt terrified.

The worst part was my husband boarded and said to me when I finally got on, “Where were you?”

From a Facebook commenterLisa Rae-Brena:

I flew out of Salt Lake City during a snowstorm. The woman across the way yelled we would all die. The plane rocked. I was 18 and terrified. I am 60 now and I still remember. The woman had a German accent. I stopped liking flying then.

From a Facebook commenterTom Kuekes:

After a very long cross-country flight due to delays, my luggage was missing when I got home. The suitcase arrived the next day. Unpacking it showed everything inside was soaked. Rain must have hit it somewhere on its trip.

From Facebook commenterBrenda Lambert:

Leaving Dallas, I had to make an emergency landing because hydraulics leaked from the landing gear. They told me to take my position. A speaker announced from the back, “PREPARE FOR IMPACT!!!”

Andfollowed up with:

No impact happened. We landed back in Dallas; the landing felt rough. Emergency vehicles waited. Everyone clapped and cheered when the plane stopped safely. One man announced he had to change his pants. This happened in 1993.

From Facebook commenterBritt Pegg:

I threw up on the people next to me during my first solo flight to meet my in-laws from Atlanta to London. They were kind and understanding, but I smelled awful afterward and felt very embarrassed. A woman helped me get clean and look presentable for my in-laws.

From Facebook commenterBarbara Aponte:

I sat in the window seat above the wing on a non-stop flight from Jamaica to Pittsburgh. Takeoff happened, and I saw fuel leaking across the wing and off the back edge. I told the dismissive flight attendant about it, who claimed it was just condensation. I stated water is not iridescent. Minutes later, the co-pilot came to my seat, sat down, rolled his eyes, then looked out the window with wide eyes.

He asked me not to tell the other passengers and left. I used the bathroom. On my way back, people asked what was wrong, so I said, “nothing.” While crying on the toilet because I thought my kids would be orphans, the pilot came over. He said they had reported a fuel leak and he would shut down the left side engines. We were over the ocean, and he said we had to land in Miami because we could not land in Cuba then. Then he returned, saying Miami was too crowded; we had to go to Orlando.

We landed and taxied far from the terminals with fire trucks and ambulances waiting. We landed without incident and got lodging or connecting flights. The next day, they put my husband and me in first class and gave us a large bottle of champagne to take home. They made a big deal about us because I saw and reported the leak.

From Facebook commenterKevin Scott:

My brother and I were nine and ten. We flew alone. We got lost in the Chicago airport while changing planes. I remember it was quite scary.

From Facebook commenterKristy Godfrey:

I asked the intercom, “Is there a doctor or EMT on the plane?” on a flight from New Mexico to Philly. A doctor was there. I had a bleeding gastric ulcer. They took me off the plane on a stretcher chair to an ambulance on the tarmac before anyone else could leave. That deplaning was the fastest I ever did.

Facebook commenter said this.Quentin Graham:

My brothers and I took a sightseeing flight over the Grand Canyon as kids. We got ice cream right before. The flight was very bumpy. All four of us threw up everywhere.

Our parents still talk about it some 45 years later.

Facebook commenter said this.James Nicol:

I have many stories! Funniest one? Approaching Chicago. I hold a glass of red wine. Actually, I hold my empty first glass. The second full glass sat inside it. When we hit an air pocket and dropped, I still held the empty glass. The full glass then fell like a stone and went everywhere after a few seconds! It was pretty funny!

Facebook commenter said this.Rick Cooke:

My dad and I landed in Disneyland's parking lot in 1957. We were at the controls. Airports were foggy, and we ran on fumes. We made the "Mickey Mouse" newsreel. I was only seven years old.