What was your worst ever flight?

[Sprucegoose]

Air Botswana in late 80s. The king's goat was on board and allowed the run of the plane.

I hate that when that happens ...

 

[Happy Trails]

Had a lot of worst flights on small charter aircraft during the 1989 dispute. Cold, cramped, slow and noisy.
Did get to fly on a nice business jet one time though.
Nothing too awful since, just a few long tarmac delays.

 

[jetlagger]

Flight wasn't bad, but I was on a JQ flight from SYD to Avalon and when we landed, the captain said we wouldn't be disembarking until one of the 2 parking spaces was vacant. For the next three hours we waited on the tarmac at Avalon as both flights that were using the parking bays were delayed.

As per SOP JQ usually offer the pay per consumption trolley service in these circumstances. :evil:

 

[comehither]

Lowered my seat about 1hr in after take-off, shortly thereafter the lady behind starts pushing her knees into the back, complaining I was encroaching on her space. Got really pushy and had to call the FA over... now I have a fear every time I lower my seat.

 

[mella2007]

A flight from Sydney to Traralgon with Hazelton (via Albury) in the mid 90's. Tiny plane (I think it sat 10 PAX) and the worst turbulance I have experienced. Being in a small plane didn't help.

 

[cgichard]

Must be close to 30 years ago now: AF from CDG to BKK. My then nearly 4 y.o. son who had the window seat said, with great excitement: "Look, Mummy, there's flames coming out from the wing!" He seemed to be the first to spot it. I think we were not far out from BKK, and in fact landed safely, but I've never seen so many fire-engines waiting on the tarmac.

Delayed for hours in BKK as a result. The AF crew vanished. Eventually pax were given a voucher for a sandwich and a drink (non-alcoholic) but the serving-place soon ran out of both, well before everyone had been served.

 

[Travel Guru]

Lukla to Kathmandu on Yeti Airways in 2004 on the way back from Base Camp Everest.

Took off from what's been long regarded as the most dangerous airport in the world and within 15 seconds was surrounded by thick clouds.
Know there were mountains all around us reduced an otherwise avid flyer who loves turbulence to praying for the first and only time on a flight.

What's even crazier is I'm thinking of doing it all over again next year :mrgreen:

TG

 

[cmon0005]

Flying VA on a Flexi fare and having to endure a Luke Mangan 'wrap' whilst squished in the middle seat on a 737 with no IFE onboard.

 

[irv]

Back in the 90's when REX was flying from Port Macquarie to Brisbane via Coffs Harbour. On the return trip on a relatively small air craft (don't ask me what it was) during a thunderstorm we made three attempts to land at Coffs in abysmal conditions before setting down. My thought transmission to the pilot was fly to Port only two hours back on the bus

 

[drewbles]

SYD-SFO July 1996, UA I think. 2nd OS trip. Felt like I vomited all the way to SFO. Felt like I was still moving when standing on solid ground two days later. Combination of pacific turbulence, motion sickness, and a nervous tummy.

So, your regular UA trans-pacific flight then

 

[UP4014]

Lowered my seat about 1hr in after take-off, shortly thereafter the lady behind starts pushing her knees into the back, complaining I was encroaching on her space. Got really pushy and had to call the FA over... now I have a fear every time I lower my seat.

Well it is hard to lower a seat actually past someone's knees. :shock:

 

[sergeyvzn]

mine was in 2005, S7 Moscow Domodedovo to Murmansk on an old Tu-154 after having a massive food poisoning the night before. The airport train was late, we had to run to the check in and then fight our way through security to make it just in time for the flight. Water was dripping from the ceiling panel on my head and I was close to losing it ...made it there but hardly remember anything about the actual flight

 

[Pollywaffle]

I really, really dislike the steep take offs from Sydney...and then they do those u-turns immediately afterwards.

It happened again today and it always sets my teeth on edge. Plus I had the window seat. :-(

 

[mannej]

I really, really dislike the steep take offs from Sydney...and then they do those u-turns immediately afterwards.

It happened again today and it always sets my teeth on edge. Plus I had the window seat. :-(

Have you been in a 717 before? I can remember some particularly steep take offs out of ZNE in them. They are like pocket rockets

 

[Gold Member]

Kruger national park (MQP - Nelspruit) to Capetown (CPT) on a 3-3 Avro RJ85 in economy for 3 hours. OMFG... Hell on earth.

 

[trooper]

Not counting 2 skydiving sorties involving engine failures.... (Hey.. we just got out!)

1. Flew up to SYD for a meeting back in my Navy days... flew BACK on what turned out to be the last flight to get in in front of some really nasty weather... bouncing through the clouds in a Dash 8.... popped out of those at low altitude.. slapped down nice and hard.

What made it worse was that I was in uniform... with Navy "wings" on... and this was during my still-scared-of-flying stage.... they were parachute wings of course.. but I doubt anyone else would have known that... so I tried to look all cool calm and collected...:shock::mrgreen:

2. Prior to departure to the Indonesian Skydiving meet in 1989.... aircraft was a chartered DC-10 (US registered/American crew) operating for Garuda (the fun just piles up eh?)

Announcement... "Sorry for the delay, we are just having a little trouble closing the aft cargo door"...

:shock::shock::shock:

 

[Pollywaffle]

Have you been in a 717 before? I can remember some particularly steep take offs out of ZNE in them. They are like pocket rockets

I don't know where ZNE is. Tell me so I can avoid it. LOL

 

[mannej]

I don't know where ZNE is. Tell me so I can avoid it. LOL

Newman - good fun flying in an out of there!

 

[Must...Fly!]

Suppose I'll nominate a PER-DRW flight on Christmas Eve 2011...young boy (~10 or so I would guess) was wondering up the aisle with Dad behind him...kid had that look on his face...you know the one...I knew what was gonna happen...

Bam! Vomited a good old torrent right in to the aisle (a 737 too - damn narrowbody!) and I happened to catch some of it....I could tell a second wave was coming but the only thing I could find was a discarded Q headphone bag which I promptly handed over to his father...that filled up rather quick. At least more did not end up on the floor. All I wanted to know was where were the sick bags!!

Needless to say the last half hour or so of the flight was rather smelly...

 

[Barondupon]

I flew Bloemfontein to Durban in a plane that did not have a toilet. This was a first for me and I had to rush from the bar to make the flight (young and foolish days). I was extremely grateful that a) I was thinner then and a lot more flexible and b) the death cigar we were flying was relatively empty.

I can report that air sick bags are waterproof and that for a three hour flight you may need two. I probably should have taken them off the plane with me but that would have been embarrassing. I just left on the seat of the pax in front of me. This was twenty five years ago (justification for poor form).