A night cross country flight 75 miles from my home airport. In pitch darkness, I had a bird strike on final, 200 feet AGL.
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My story isnāt quite as dramatic as a bird strike at 200ā feet AGL, but it is the closest Iāve ever come to having to declare an emergency.
This dates back to the summer of 1997 when I was a post-solo student pilot. On this flight, I was training on a Piper Tomahawk and flying dual with my CFI. This particular lesson was about flying āunder the hoodā in simulated IFR conditions.
I was so focused on reading my instruments and following the lesson that I totally forgot about a habit I had been told to form very early in my training: every 10 minutes or so, switch the fuel tank selector from left to right or vice versa. Iām sure you can see where this is going.
After flying for about an hour (and never swapping the tank from left to right), we were heading back from the training area to the airport. About five miles out, my engine sputtered and died. I immediately started going through my emergency training and remembered the old mantra of Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.
My first action was to set the attitude and trim to best glide speed. I then looked at my altitude and the distance to the airport and mentally calculated if I could make the runway without power or if Iād have to find a field somewhere for an emergency landing. Finally, I opened my checklist to the Emergency Procedures tab and started going through each item. As soon as I saw āChange fuel selector to other tankā I knew immediately why my engine had failed. I swapped tanks, successfully restarted the engine, and safely landed as normal without having to call a mayday.
During the post-flight debrief, my CFI remarked that he noticed early in the flight that I was forgetting to switch tanks and knew the engine failure would happen. He said he deliberately allowed it to teach me a valuable lesson. Lesson learned! Iāve never forgotten to switch tanks ever since. 
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Flying a Cessna 172 to try to beat out a monster thunderstorm heading for my destination airport at the time and it was the most fun Iāve ever had on a flight while learning how to fly at the same time
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Personal Comments and Observations
Carrier and origination will remain anonymous for a variety of reasons. 
This was many decades ago anyway when I was younger and more foolish.
As a paying pax, I glimpse into the cockpit of this questionably maintained aircraft and realize the COP is undergoing IFR hood training while on a revenue flight, as evidenced by the multitude of newspapers taped to their side of the cockpit windows. And our route takes us over some extremely rough high terrain.
Why did I board? Next flight out was three days away and I didnāt want to spend a minute longer in this location where the security situation was rapidly devolving.
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Iāve got several, but two that stand out:
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A few decades ago when I was younger and dumber - I was not PIC, but was sole manipulator. PIC decided we were shooting a sucker hole in a line of severe weather. I protested but lost. We remained VFR but got way too close and encountered downdrafts that I could not perform out of at moments. Fortunately, I had plenty of altitude and escape routes, but decided I wouldnāt do that ever again and Iād be more assertive in my personal CRM. This was pre cell phone ubiquity, too, so the only thing we had to guide us was Flight Watch telling us where the gaps were. The view on the back side of the line almost made up for the stupidity.
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Hot, high, and heavy in the Rockies, also a few decades ago. Despite preflight calculations and a longish runway that said weād be okay, the the density altitude was a bit much and we had trouble climbing once we got out of ground effect. I eventually nursed it to a safe altitude and despite never quite being in danger, it left a strong impression and another lesson learned. Since then, I leave myself a lot more margin and havenāt had any issues.
I encourage everybody to (safely) fly outside of your normal āhomeā airport/training area. A lot of learning occurs when youāre outside the bubble.
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Hop outta Denver to Salt Lake on a 12 passenger Turbo Prop. 15 minutes into the flight, pilot pulls back the curtain separating cockpit from passenger compartment and says āAnybody see anything that looks familiar?āā¦ For a minute, I thought he was serious, we were in some pretty tall Cumulo Granite. Then we heard then laughing in the cockpitā¦ SMH
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Flying patterns I was just getting ready to turn left from crosswind to downwind, raised the left wing of the C172 a little to check for traffic and got a sudden reflection in the right window which for a split second looked like the oncoming landing light of another aircraft. Really got the blood pumping for a second ā¦
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A bit scary, much more embarrassing:
returning to my home airport from one of my first flights as a PPL owner ATC told me to enter a righthand downwind for the landing runway. Because I approached that runway during training several times with lefthand downwinds, I read back correct but - out of habit and unconsciously - entered the lefthand downwind which took me right through the departure sector of the other active runway where I saw an airliner lined up, obviously ready for departure.
Switching from Approach to Tower the first thing they told me - for everyone on the frequency to hear - was that theyād stopped all traffic because of my dangerous maneuver.
Thatās when you want to sink into the ground but canāt because youāre too high in the air.
Lesson learned: donāt assume to hear what you expect to hear, and always expect the unexpected.
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Smoke in the cockpit prior to V1, battery overheat, but the scariest events happened during my instructor days in GA airplanes. Another airplane entered the pattern incorrectly and we almost hit them on base leg. We were close enough to count the pin stripes on the other airplane. The same thing happened flying in the pattern when also instructing, but with a crop duster who didnāt have or wasnāt using a radio. There are more events but thatās all I can remember right now.
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182 going from Las Vegas to Phoenix. Stable flight, all is well and my co pilot friend decided he needed to use the in air bathroom(soda bottle). The dash, me himā¦he went everywhere with it. I was mad, we laughed ā¦what are are you going to do right?
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Alright, letās dive into the juiciest tale of my scariest flight experience ever. Buckle up, because itās gonna be a wild ride!
It was a rainy day, just like any other, as we prepared for takeoff. Passengers settled into their seats, and my colleague and I went through our routine checks. Everything seemed perfectly fine, and we were ready to soar through the the clouds. But little did we know that this flight was going to be far from ordinary.
As we reached our cruising altitude, enjoying our time in the cockpit, things suddenly took a turn. Without any warning, the autopilot, our trusted companion in the sky, began to act up. It started making erratic movements, disregarding our commands and throwing us off course.
My heart skipped a beat. The thought of losing control of such a massive flying machine was daunting, to say the least. My colleague and I instantly sprang into action, flipping switches, cross-checking readings, and trying to regain control. Passengers were unaware of the chaos unfolding just a few meters away, engrossed in their movies and conversations.
But hereās the thing, deactivating the autopilot turned out to be a bigger challenge than we expected no matter what we did it would not disengage. It seemed determined to keep us in its clutches, resisting our every attempt to regain manual control. We struggled, toggling switches, running through procedures, and even resorting to unconventional methods. It was like a battle of wills between man and machine.
With every passing moment, the tension in the cockpit grew. We had to think fast and stay one step ahead. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we managed to wrestle control back into our hands. The aircraft responded to our inputs, and we breathed a sigh of relief.
But the ordeal was far from over. We still had to navigate through challenging weather conditions and declare an emergency to air traffic control. My colleague and I communicated with ATC, explaining the situation and requesting priority landing. Their calm and professional guidance helped us stay focused, even as adrenaline coursed through our veins.
The runway came into sight, a beacon of hope amidst the chaos. We lined up for the approach, fighting against the gusty winds that threatened to push us off course. The tension reached its peak as we touched down, the tires screeching against the runway, and then finally, the comforting feeling of deceleration as we slowed to a halt.
The passengers, now fully aware of the seriousness of the situation, erupted into applause and expressions of gratitude. Little did they know the nail-biting moments we had just experienced in the cockpit. We had faced the unexpected, navigated through the storm, and brought them safely to the ground.
Looking back on that flight, it reminds me of the importance of staying calm in the face of adversity. Itās moments like those that test your mettle and make you realize just how strong you can be when it matters most. And you know what? Itās these hair-raising experiences that make being a pilot one heck of an exhilarating and rewarding job.
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Great story, but honest question - was that run through ChatGPT? If not, you have a gift for storytelling language.
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Just happened Tuesday on a flight from Tampa to Boston, lost my leather earphone carry case.
It was soft leather with a snap shut top sort of like a change purse, it was 23D on a JetBlue A321 if any of you find it. 
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4 years of flying with LIAT has given me an unending stock of scary stories. The plane-on-fire-with-jammed-gear was the worst.
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Landing a motorglider under heavy crosswinds, a gust blow me of the runway on the apron (lukily no wingstrike, but it was close, very close). Managed to avoid parked aircraft, the gas pump and the corn field - me and the aircraft remaind undamaged (lukily), only two 5cm deep, a few meter long scars in the grass of the apron due to main gear locking up when breaking and to cornstalks at the border of the corn field - and i nearly needed new underpants ā¦ 
Not so scary but funny: I once was attacked by an eagle in mid flight ā¦ the bird was somewhat megalomaniacal when it decides to go after a >16m wingspanned aircraft - after tow or three attacks the eagled decied to leave me alone ā¦ never saw it agian
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After almost 4 hours of flight from Stockholm to Marrakech the ā ā ā ā cat stepped on the power on/off button. Luckily the pc only went to sleep mode and could resume and land safely afterwards 
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Thank you. Nope, itās just something I had written down since the day it happened. I modified it over time and shared it with friends, family, and sometimes even other colleagues when we had enough time to sit down and chat. It was a horrific experience for me, which is probably the reason why I remember it in great detail. In that moment, I genuinely believed I would never want to be a pilot again. It was one of those experiences that make you consider quitting, but I wasnāt too serious about it. It was just a moment of panic. After I had a chance to relax, I thought things through. I realized that Iām still young and havenāt even had the opportunity to be in the left seat yet, so itās too early for me to give up on my dream.
Iām grateful that things turned out the way they did. As for what happened to that particular plane, I have no clue. It was taken out of service, and I havenāt seen it again since then.
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As a pax on a inland commercial Ariana Afghan Airlines flight (called scariana airline for a reason) in a very old Antonov prop plane, that was immediately taken out of service after landingā¦
And secondly, just before my final departure from that same beautiful country, when waiting in the terminal and somebody decided it was a good time to fire rockets at the airport. That was not funny.
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- Failed flaps, 3 TOGAās followed by a very high speed landing on a CSA flight to Prague.
- Missed approach (c. 30 degrees off runway) and thankfully a very abrupt TOGA on a flight to Paris. So bad the stewardesses sat behind me were crying and holding hands.
- Having to sit next to Roy Keane on a flight to Dublin.
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Not as scary as losing an expensive headphone carrying case butā¦
soon after getting my IR, was doing an approach into an uncontrolled airport just outside of the DC areaā¦ was on with Potomac Approach and asked them if I could fly the hold then shoot the ILS. ATC gave that clearanceā¦ basically fly the hold then cleared ILSā¦ We were in solid IMC at this point right in a thick layer (I think it was an 800ā OC but thick up past the altitude of the IAF where we were going to holdā¦ AP was on at this point and we started the right turn to start the hold on the outbound legā¦ then ATC gave a strange clearance (in my opinionā¦ not sure if they forgot that they had cleared me to fly the hold then cleared ILS, but they came on and said to turn left to join the FAC, cleared ILSā¦ I disengaged the automation and started a left turn, but my brain was a bit overloaded and I lost my scan. Ended up thinking I was banking too much left and started a turn back to the rightā¦ felt straight level, so increased the bankā¦ by this time I was completely lost and had started a descent AND was continuing the right turn (which was tightening)ā¦
You see where this is going. Classic graveyard spiral. When I finally got my head back in the panel, the red chevrons were showing on the EFD pointing up and all I saw on the display was brown meaning I was at an attitude where a horizon wasnāt even displayed. ATC came on to let me know I was below the MSA at some point during all thisā¦ I pulled power back, got the wings level and pulled back so I could finally see a horizon on the EFDā¦ declared an emergency (I sort of remember doing this) and ended up just climbing back up to maybe 4000ā (this was in some semi-mountainous terrain in the Blue Ridge, mind you)ā¦ ATC asked if everything was ok and once I was back at altitude and straight and level again, I said yeahā¦
ā¦ ended up getting vectored back to the initial approach fix and got cleared again for the ILS and ended up shooting a pretty good approach. Was sweating like crazy by this point. Flew the missed then went back 30 or so miles to my home airport, landed, shut down, got out and couldnāt stop shaking.
Looking back on the foreflight track log, I came to within a few hundred feed of metal plating the side of a mountain outside Winchester VA. Actually gives me chills typing this which is why itās a bit of a ramble
Long story short - spatial D is very very very real and you can get into trouble really quickly if you lose your scan and panic. I should have kept flying the hold and questioned ATCs call to turn me sharply left after being in a right turn in the hold I was cleared to fly. I didnāt get a deviation and the controller was helpful once I got into trouble. I did file a NASA report voluntarily.
Anyway, that was the scariest moment. Have had lots of times in moderate to severe turbulence in IMC that gave me pause, but nothing as scary as that almost-graveyard-spiral event.
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