6 Airline Pilots Reveal the Near-Disasters They've Saved Passengers From
Flying is never a stress-free experience. From getting to the airport on time and through security without any hiccups to finding the correct gate and fitting your carry-on into the plane's overhead compartments, there are plenty of opportunities for something to go wrong during your journey. But the worst possible scenario comes to mind after you've settled into your seat and the engines begin to rumble. Even though we know that airplanes are safer than cars and our chances of dying in a plane crash are slim to none (approximately 1 in 7,178, compared to 1 in 98 for cars, according to USA Today), it's hard not to get a little anxious when our planes hit heavy turbulence.
Luckily, pilots are trained to handle not just turbulence but the most dangerous possible situations on a flight-say if the entire engine shuts down, or they need to land during a thunderstorm. According to Travel+Leisure, a recent Reddit thread asked pilots to share some of the scariest situations they've handled on a flight without passengers ever knowing. We already knew there are things pilots don't tell us, but these terrifying stories will give you goosebumps. Read on, if you dare…
1. Dangerous altitudes
Most people worry about their plane dropping in altitude during a flight, but it can be even more dangerous to fly higher. In every plane, there are three sources of "bleed air" that take air from the engines and use it to pressurize the cabin, wrote Reddit user PlaneShenaniganz, who faced a terrifying situation in which all three bleed air sources failed. "If we don't descend to a safe altitude immediately, the cabin altitude will rise high enough that the air is no longer breathable," he wrote. He and his first officer immediately threw on oxygen masks-because if the pilots die, no one can fly the jet-and initiated an emergency descent, turning the plane back toward LAX. Luckily, the pilot got the plane on the ground safely without the passengers being any wiser of how close to danger they'd flown. Only 12 angry Chinese passengers ever found out the full story, as the pilot finally explained to them via a translator why their trip was delayed. "As I explained what happened, the expressions on these 12 passengers' faces went from angry, to surprised, to fearful, and finally thankful," he shared. "Before I walked away, all 12 of them bowed to me in respect. That was something I have never experienced before or since then in my entire aviation career."
2. Engine failure
As one might expect, landing a plane is no easy task when the engine gives out. Reddit user bigdog927 was forced to keep his composure when the oil pressure fell beneath allowable limits as he was giving a ride to a friend in a rental plane. "My passenger doesn't know anything is up because I'm not saying anything," he wrote. "The last thing I need is some guy freaking the hell out while I'm trying to land the plane without a usable engine. I calmly tell him, 'We need to turn around.'" With the plane at risk of bursting into fire, the pilot declared an emergency landing and circled back to their departure site, landing the plane on the last 500 feet of the runway and nearly running off the end.
3. Nature strikes
Passengers arrived at a mountain airport and disembarked, annoyed about landing at a different airport than intended. They had no idea how lucky they were to be alive. Commenter Twenty2Right was piloting their plane when strong up-and-down drafts hit their plane and lightning began to strike all around. The thunderstorm could have been deadly. "Worst turbulence I have ever experienced," he shared. "We diverted, landed safely and later got the passengers to their intended destination. Passengers were so oblivious how close we were to disaster that one of them wrote a Yelp review about how awful the service was and that we didn't even land at the right airport."
4. Ice emergency
Precipitation and high altitude can be a dangerous combination for planes if ice builds up on the outside of the plane, especially if the pilot's vision through the windows is blocked. Reddit user AngryFace1986 shared that his father, a commercial pilot for over 35 years, once faced "a severe build-up of ice," causing him to immediately lose altitude. "This quickly turned into a pan-pan call followed by a mayday a few minutes later," he wrote. Fortunately, his father was able to land the plane safely. The commenter also recalled a pilot who had to land a plane by looking out an open window, "as the ice buildup on the windows was too severe to see through."
5. Deadly birds
The last thing any pilot wants to encounter upon take-off is a bird strike. Thanks to Captain "Sully," the pilot who successfully landed a plane on the Hudson River after birds knocked out both plane engines, every pilot knows the danger of flying through a flock of birds-and Reddit user 1008oh had the misfortune to experience it, just 500 feet after take-off. "We could very well have ended up in the same situation as 'Sully.' I don't think anyone in the back noticed anything, but it sure as hell got the adrenaline flowing," he wrote.
6. Which way is down?
Redditor EagleBumPilot hadn't yet received his instrument rating (the qualification to fly a plane through bad weather by relying on instruments rather than sight) when piloting a plane out of Chicago with some friends, so he planned to fly low enough to see the ground. But their plane was caught in an unforeseen raincloud, causing the pilot to lose all visual orientation. "I kept thinking '30 seconds, 30 seconds' as this was the amount of time they say it takes for a pilot with no instrument training to get themselves into a panic-inducing stall/spin," he wrote. Forcing himself to remain calm so his friends would remain oblivious to the danger, he contacted Air Traffic Control for directions back to their hotel, where they landed and flew back with clear weather the next day. "In hindsight, I absolutely should have declared an emergency, but I didn't for the reason that my passengers would have heard the same and may have panicked," he wrote. "I'll never again put myself and/or my passengers in a position like that again."
(h/t Travel+Leisure)
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