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Worst non-crash flight experience ever - can't blame Spirit on this one

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by Viva Las Vegas, Oct 10, 2019.

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  1. Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas Elvis has left the building

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    Drunk passenger vomits in woman's hair on Spirit flight from Chicago to Baltimore

    Link


    Beyond this drunk scumbag, there were two more drunks on the plane that locked themselves in the bathroom and delayed the flight further.

     
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  2. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    My "worst non-crash experience"?
    Aborted take-off, in July, (115F that afternoon) "Funjet" DC-10... we chewed up 90% of the runway before the pilot killed it & taxied back to the gate.

    During the long ride down the runway trying to take off, the guy sitting next to me (clearly, a rookie flyer) asks me, "Do they usually take this long to take off?"
    I give him a rather serious look and say "No...they don't...something's wrong." Guy goes pale on me!
     
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  3. SMG

    SMG VIP Whale

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    If I had a choice, I would rather be sitting next to someone with a miniature horse, then some drunk passenger like the ones on that Spirit flight. :eek:

    Although, the worse flight that I had was flying out of White Plaines, NY back to Chicago on American Eagle. This was back in 2007. I was in town on business and I was on their last flight for that night. No sooner than we board the plane and start taxing to the runway, we were told that due to weather condition and high winds they were delaying out takeoff. At first, we sat on the runway for a couple of hours, then the pilot announced that we were taxing to the side of the runway until further notice. We were stuck in the plane for over 6 hrs. I also got a call from my boss who decided to take the earlier flight which was an hour earlier and it turned out that his plane was delayed too and sitting in line in front of ours. We were also told that the gates were full so we couldn't return to gates. Then when they started clearing flights for takeoff, they were giving the larger jets priority over the commuter jets, so that was another delay. The flight crew kept apologizing, but American didn't offer any apologies or compensation.

    The second worse flight was back in 2017 when SWA first started putting the 737 MAX into service. It turned out that I was on one of them flying out of MDW to LAS during my Fall 2017 trip. Anywho, we were all waiting in line to board the plane when they announced a delay due to a mechanical problem. This 737 MAX was only in service for a week and they couldn't get the engines started. After one delay after another, they finally got one engine to start, but they had to start the second one using an external starter. After a 4 hrs delay, they assured us that the plane passed all of their safety checks, but in the back of our minds, we were all hoping that the engines wouldn't die in mid-flight. Since I'm still alive to write this post, you can assume that I did survive that flight. LOL Although unlike American, SWA sent out an official email with an apology for the delay, along with a $100 e-certificate which was a big surprise.
     
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  4. booker

    booker VIP Whale

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    Not me, but the FFA students at the high school where I worked were attending a conference and were waiting on the tarmac at Dallas when a jet hit wind shear (or something weather related) and crashed killing over 100 people. This was in the mid 1980s. There were some somber kids and scared parents back home when they heard this.
     
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  5. AyDee

    AyDee is getting too old for this

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    Not really flights, but showing up way too early for the black pit of depression of the departure gate.
    We drive now.
     
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  6. jackatwell63

    jackatwell63 Tourist

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    back in 1981 was on a dc10 or was it a dc8 ...the ones with all the problems back then
    we were mid flight and were told we lost an engine , since planes had a lot of problems back then , people were freaking out and crying and everything
    me, i was but 18 , for some reason it didnt really bother me ... today i too would probably freak out !!!...lol
     
  7. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    [​IMG]

    The worst one I can remember was decades ago on an American flight, back when they served full meals on domestic flights. Right at meal time we hit turbulence and jerked to the left and descended rapidly. The reason I remember what was served was that I ended up wearing it for the rest of the flight! :(

    Blobs of hot coffee and other various beverages were flying about the cabin and landing on passengers.
     
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  8. allinpflop

    allinpflop Tourist

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    Been mostly fortunate but my worst flight happened to be the first flight that I took with my wife (then gf). She had flown as a child but hadn’t flown since then and was somewhat nervous. We were about 45min from our destination of Phoenix when the worst turbulence I have ever experienced began. I didn’t want to make her more nervous so I played it off like all flights experience this type of turbulence. Meanwhile I’m praying to God that we get to the ground safely. It took several years before I admitted how scared I was.
     
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  9. buckeyebadger

    buckeyebadger Low-Roller

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    I’ve had to fly quite a bit but two distinct memories stand out-the first was when I was off to a training school for the Navy in Meridian MS-I could not see anything that remotely resembled a landing strip and was convinced we were landing in the middle of a field(safe to say we weren’t but wow it sure was frightening) The second time was when I was stationed in Sicily and my husband was deployed on a carrier. It was Valentine’s Day and the VRC-40 (the rawhides) PR officer thought it would be good story if I flew out and saw my husband on the carrier. Well it was feel good story except I’d never been on a ship before and we blew a tire upon landing at sea. Then when that got repaired and we took off the feeling of dropping into the sea was absolutely nauseating. The ironic part is I went on to serve in the west coast squadron VRC-30 for a few years so I ended up doing flights like that on a fairly regular basis. And yes almost 25 years later we are still married.
     
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  10. mescalita

    mescalita old and in the way...

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    I’m definitely not recommending this thread to any first time flyers...
     
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  11. bull0120

    bull0120 VIP Whale

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    On the way out for my trip back in April the turbulence was bad all the way across the country and they couldn't do drink service until right before the final descent. I had forgot my liquids bag in the car because I made myself a drink in the parking lot. It was a major tragedy and I'm surprised it wasn't on the news.
     
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  12. Kobra2848

    Kobra2848 VIP Whale

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    Several years ago on one of our trips to Vegas we had a first time flyer sitting next to me. After taking off the plane turned for Vegas but kept turning. The first timer asked if that way normal and I said nope. The plane went right back to the airport and landed. As we were exited from the plane you could see hydraulic fluid dripping from the right wing. I overheard one of the FA’s say we were lucky to have whoever the pilot was flying and was able to get us back safely. I told the wife no matter how we do on this trip we are coming home a winner.

    Mark
     
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  13. gr8whitenorth

    gr8whitenorth VIP Whale

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    Having spent many years traveling for work I've been lucky. We once had to make an emergency landing in Winnipeg because of smoke in the cabin. It was somewhat dramatic for a while. The lady in my row was losing her mind and kept getting increasingly angry at me because "I didn't seem to care". I just told her over and over again that to remember we were 'passengers' and could not control the situation as we were along for the ride. When we landed first responders came onto the plane quickly and we were ushered out. I did partake of a few drinks in the lounge but overall it was handled well. The lady refused to get on the next flight we were booked onto and kept giving me the evil eye. As with the story in this article some people should just take the bus..
     
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  14. DoctorD

    DoctorD Low-Roller

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    Back in 2004 I was on a business trip in LA connecting in Denver on return.

    I always liked to take the 777 planes that were newer. Returning home, I was on a United flight to ORD. Nice flight, but we had storms in Chicago. Circled, and had to land in Milwaukee about 9:00 PM.

    Pilot announces that we will wait for storms, get gas and go to ORD. We wait for an hour, get gas and then the pilot tries to start the engines. No dice. He says they have a mechanical problem. Problem is that there were no jetbridges that fit a 777 at mke. We wait and wait and wait until Early morning. . People were freaking out. Finally one of the other airlines lends them a stairway at 8 in the morning.

    They announce for anyone in business there are limos to ORD. Anyone in coach, there are busses. I’m my wisdom I didn’t check bags. Found a limo with an extra seat and went to ORD.

    United did issue flight certificates for a modest amount. Had to contact them to receive.

    Best part was that I got to expense my travel time door to door. Had to attach a newspaper article for accounting lady to prove it takes 24 hours to travel from California to Chicago.

    D
     
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  15. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Have had extreme turbulence out over the Gulf. On approach to LAX once we hit a pocket so severe that it jarred the cockpit door open and a bit later on landing first one wing tip and then the other just about touched down. Got into PDX as the last-plane-down a few winters back after circling for an hour then making a mad dash for the n-s runway, which until that time I didn't know PDX had.

    Worst experiences, however, have been obnoxious drunks on otherwise normal flights.
     
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  16. VegasBJ

    VegasBJ VIP Whale

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    Back about 30 years ago ( or more), I was on a TWA flight heading into STL. Severe thunderstorms and high winds 35-40 mph. We circled and circled, and finally pilot comes on the PA and says we are low on fuel and have to land. He aborts one landng, circles around, and we come back in for another attempt. I am sitting on the window right on the right side wing. The winds are blowing across the tarmac, so the pilot has the plane at about a 45 deg angle to the runway, with the wing tip I am viewing out the window seemingly almost touching the ground. We are getting closer and closer to the runway, and at the last second, the pilot whips the plane straight and sticks the landing. best piece of flying I have ever seen. The whole plane explodes in applause. As we are getting to the gate, the pilot comes on again and says " I know a lot of you were probably nervous, but after flying jets in Vietnam and landing on carriers at night and in bad weather, this really wasn't so bad". Lol, thank god for good pilots with good training!!
     
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  17. Las Vegan Cajun

    Las Vegan Cajun High-Roller

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    Mine was not on a commercial airline but aboard a military aircraft (CH-3E) helicopter.

    One summer in Arizona with thunder storms off in the distance we were safely cruising our way from Luke AFB to Kirtland AFB. When all of a sudden the master caution in the cockpit is flashing.

    The indication was a sensor (chip detector) in the tail rotor gearbox detected metal was shearing off of the gears in the gearbox. Not a good sign while in flight.

    Aircrew had to make a quick decision to land the bird somewhere in the middle of the desert before catastrophe struck or else we’d all be toast.

    They had to avoid landing in any low lying area like a wash because if we were there any length of time and the thunderstorms moved in, well we all know where raging water in the desert flows.

    Definitely didn’t want to be sitting in a wash if and when a storm rolls through. I doubt the CO would have been happy about the loss of an aircraft like that.

    Anyway we maintenance guys got to work on the problem while hoping the thunderstorms would cooperate and hold off until we could determine the next course of action.

    To add to the problem we were out of range of any radio contact. Aircrew made several attempts to contact any nearby facility that had VHF/UHF capability, there were none.

    We were able to remove the chip detector from the tail rotor gearbox and inspect it. It looked clean with no visible signs of any problems. So we reinstalled it, made sure the connections were secure and told the pilots let’s fire her up and see what happens.

    All aboard they fire up both engines and engage the rotors all systems looked good so far. Sit there on the ground for several minutes observing everything is working normal before attempting to take off again.

    With thunderstorms on the move in our direction it was time to get out of there or else we’d be spending the night in the desert with our aircraft getting drenched.

    We safely made it to our destination with thunderstorms just about slapping our tail rotor. Needless to say that after we secured our aircraft on the tarmac we headed straight for the club for a few much needed adult beverages.

    The only thing we can figure was possibly a connection at the chip detector wasn’t making good contact. Removing and reseating the connection must have done the trick.
     
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  18. Jake13

    Jake13 Low-Roller

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    I too had an experience like VegasBJ a lot of years ago, I think flying in a Horizon Air turboprop IIRC. Flying into Seattle (SeaTac) the cross winds were very severe and I was sitting in a window seat and to this day I swear I was looking right down the lines on the runway only a few feet off the ground. I was sure we were going to "Crab In" sideways and probably crash. And like VegasBJ's experience, at the last minute the pilot turned the plane and sticks the landing. Never been so scared and then relieved in my life.
     
  19. Las Vegan Cajun

    Las Vegan Cajun High-Roller

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    E57639FF-97DA-4ECA-A179-C701F9E7D5FB.png
     
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  20. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    Ha, this reminds me of the stupid dressing cups they used to use in AA domestic first class, before they moved to the packets. Those things always exploded all over me. I cannot remember a time an upgrade to F didn't result in getting off the plane covered in Caesar dressing.

    Personally, the scariest flight experience I ever had was when I was spending a lot of time down in the Caribbean, on puddle-jumpers that didn't handle wind very well. I was on a flight once that literally bounced off the runway twice in a row and had to circle back around, before finally sticking the landing on the third try.
     
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