Random Worst In-Flight Experiences Flight Attendants Described (16 items)

• (#8) The Police Had To Be Called

  From Redditor /u/Kaida52Kaida52:

  "Very long story short, we had to board and deplane the same group of 183 passengers four times on three different planes over a span of six hours. The problem was when OPS canceled the flight at one point only to reinstate it even though passenger bags had already been sent to baggage claim.

  As we were boarding the last time it took too long because of the logistics of it, that the flight attendants timed out. The second time it canceled passengers were irate, throwing their bags, breaking seats, swearing, crying; it was so bad that the police had to be called. Before the police showed up we started to deplane yet again. As each person walked past us I was afraid they would throw a punch at us. I couldn't sleep right for two weeks because I felt so horrible and stressed over the whole situation."
• (#5) An Unscheduled Landing

  From Redditor /u/guth86:

  "I'm a pilot, but I was deadheading and sitting in the jump-seat while hearing cockpit warnings going off, until the captain called the FA on inter phone and told her we're making an 'unscheduled landing.'

  They were getting low oil pressure indications for one of the engines, it ended up being rather uneventful, but at the time, only having been at the airline a few months, it was both exciting and stressful."
• (#13) Last-Minute Maintenance Didn't Work As Planned

  From Redditor /u/spicyshrimpbit:

  "Back on Christmas day of 2007, just months into starting to fly, our A319 was on its way back from LAX to YYZ. We were on the ground delayed for almost an extra two-and-a-half hours because the maintenance crew noticed there were three huge indents on the right engine. We then found out that someone in YUL drove their truck into the right engine and failed to report it (obviously this guy was consequently fired) and let the aircraft fly.

  After being assured by maintenance in LAX that we are safe to fly, we finally departed. After finishing the first service, which is approximately an hour-and-a-half into the flight, the plane plummeted downwards to the right wing. It fell so fast that everyone in the plane was screaming and crying.

  After a good 10 seconds of falling (and 10 seconds is a long time), we felt the plane ascending at incredible speeds. We were climbing so fast that the bar trolley lodged the service director to one of the open seats. The other flight attendant was on the ground, trying to climb up on her jump seat (barely getting her seatbelts buckled), and I had to use my arms and legs to wedge myself between the two lavatory doors. The other FA grabbed my hand and tears were streaming down her face. I just kept on telling her 'we're not going to die on Christmas day.'

  After drastically climbing for another 30 seconds or so, we finally evened out. There was vomit everywhere, and people were still panicking, sweating, crying. The captain came on the PA saying we had issues with 'turbulence', but when we landed and passengers deplaned, the FO looked at us, lowered his head, and he said 'we all knew why that happened.'"
• (#3) Ice Was Built Up Behind The Propellers

  From a former Redditor:

  "There was freezing rain in Ottawa one night and due to the direction of the rain it fell behind the prop covers. Freezing there overnight, it was missed during de-icing. As soon as we took off I felt the entire plane rattling. I watched my coffee cup dance as it sat in a cup holder in front of me. I remember the plane leveling off very quickly, and then the blinking red light came on and EMERGENCY lit up on the panel.

  We went through the TEST briefing and the captain sounded incredibly stressed, though he did say it would be a non-emergency landing.

  We landed without incident, and later found over two pounds of ice built up behind the props, and four oz. was considered bad for balancing.

  I was two weeks on the job, and I remember being so calm and accepting in the air. On the ground, after debriefing, however, I finished a pitcher in five minutes."
• (#9) Another Plane Was Shot Down While In Flight

  From Redditor /u/LadyLigeia:

  "One of my best friends is a flight attendant, and she was flying to Dubai (so was somewhere over the Middle East) when the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down over Ukraine. They cut all the news channels, and customers were asking about it. Then all of the crew were called to meet and they were just told 'a plane has been shot down, we don't know much but in case any passengers have found out and ask we didn't want you to find out through them.'"
• (#14) The Plane Clipped A Building On The Ground

  From Redditor /u/misskrumpet:

  "My brother works for British Airways and was in the flight out of Joburg that ended up on the wrong taxiway that was too narrow and clipped a building.

  The crash was scary, but the worst part was that because of a fuel-spill they had to stay on the plane for an hour until they were cleared to evacuate. They told passengers not to use their phones due to the flammability of the situation but as you can see from the news articles the request was ignored and many photos were taken."

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