Triphap - Funny Travel Stories and Travel Horror Stories

Because I am one to always attempt to conquer my fears, I began learning about airplanes. I wanted to be able to identify the sounds the plane was making, of course under the theory that if I could understand what the plane and the pilot were doing, the noises and G force wouldn't terrify me anymore. In theory, this idea was perfect. My fear only lay with take-off. Once the pilot reached cruising altitude, or during the descent, I was not afraid at all. So I scoured all the resources I could find to learn about airplane take-offs.

There was another time I was fortunate enough to sit next to an off-duty airline pilot. We started talking about the different sounds of the plane and what they meant so that I was really doing a lot better. I wasn't that nervous at all. The pilot went into great detail to explain to me that the aircraft we were flying on was a wonderful aircraft - particularly during landing. He told me that whenever I got to fly on that aircraft I should - the plane practically lands itself. I was grateful for his insight and settled down for the 2 hour trip. When we began our descent, the pilot reminded me of just how great the landing was going to be so I waited with great anticipation and expectations. As we neared the ground, I stowed away everything and waited for the near perfect landing.

As I peered over the pilot's shoulder to look out the window (I usually sat on the aisle so I wouldn't have to look out of the window), I saw the runway appear beneath us. It kept going...and going...and going!

The pilot completely overshot the runway. He finally set the plane down with a loud THUD!

Because he had overshot the runway, our gate came up quickly so the pilot pulled a hard right toward the gate (the plane seemingly leaned onto two wheels). The overhead bins flew open and carry-on luggage went flying throughout the cabin. The pilot slammed on the brakes so hard that everything went flying forward.

"Welcome to Orlando!" the pilot announced happily over the intercom system as the cabin erupted into curses. Wide-eyed and frozen with fear, I looked at the pilot sitting next to me who just stared back at me sheepishly.

Neither of us said a word as we headed to the airport bar.