being stuck on a klm md11 for almost 12 hours on what was supposed to be a 10 hour flight next to a couple and the wife decided to take off her shoes and put them on her husbands lap throughout the whole flight, even during meal time, now that was terrifying.
actually seriously it would have to be a toss up between the time i was on a dc10 and there were winds of over 60mph including crosswinds and i was stuck in the middle so views out the windows were difficult, it was clouds down to about 300 feet raining like mad, and then all of a sudden got hit with  large crosswind and then a sudden thump as we hit the ground, i was not best pleased being late as it was but that was the clincher, i aint never seen so many people bounce in there seat in my life:)
the other would have to be my connecting flight out of detroit a few hours later, by that time it had gone from wind and rain to a blizzard and fog, couldnt even see the plane next to us at the gate, once we finally got to the runway i actually had a window seat, and we started the takeoff role, then about halfway down we still hadnt taken off(this was a dc9) then the engines started to die a little, we were 3/4's way down the runway by now, then one last push from the engines and we finally got into the air with less then 100 feet to spare.
i dont think i have ever came so close to soiling myself as i did then:) and just incase you havent seen detroits runways, they are long, very long

I'm not sure if anybody's took the "E-Ticket" ride into Reno/Tahoe Airport, but, when the wind is blowing, the approaches get really bumpy. I've even had a pilot's-eye-view of the runway from the middle of the cabin, myself. Serious yaw!

Anyway I was just out side of work, having a smoke. We're right under the runway 34 approach, and I saw this Southwest 737 coming in from the South.
A crosswind came up and caught the plane from the right, tossed it to the left and the pilot over compensated back to the right and from where I was standing, it looked like the row of passengers on the right got a good look at the ground as the plane rolled almost 45 degrees to the right at about 1500 ft. AGL!!! Wow!

I'm sure there's some upset folks disembarking right about now.

Once I was flying in a cessna and as we were on final to land, we were only a couple hundred feet away when another aircraft taxis onto the runway, so we quickly pulled up and did a go around

I remember being about 16 yrs old over the the Bay of Quinte in a DH Carribou.......on take-off the windows were vibrating about an inch each way ( in and out ) from the fine pitch of the props, then climbing out with the rear loading door open........I wasn't totally impressed die to my limited knowledge of aerodynamics. More recently I was on a flight from YYZ to YVR when dinner was suspended due to some weather below us.... can you imagine looking straight out at FL 39 and seeing the tops of the CB's at the same altitude,... these were rising from the system directly under our flt path......bouncy, bouncy......things were shakin' all over in that A330.......

Prop came off our Luscombe 8E
on final hit the windshield and
right wing. Dads comment was
"Now it's going to get interesting"
and we landed

Moto is IF YOU LOSE YOUR COOL
            YOU WILL LOSE THE PLANE

Bhofmx

I have been in one of those flights that fisharno described.
Just makes you wonder if your sweating it, what the pilot is doing
Reno/Tahoe IAP (KRNO) is a great place to practice crosswind landings

I PULLED A BACKFLIP IN A CESSNA... AND TRUST ME... IT WASNT MEANT TO DO THAT

hm..i don't know if a winch-take-off in a sailplane is terrifying. but for me,it was very uncommon,because it was the first flight after staying on ground for about eight years. we had at least 45 degrees pitch angle during take-off. urgh! 

Nothing happened to me, either than eating some bad airline food then felt nauseated.

Quote:

All my glider training was done from winch launches. Note I say glider rather than sailplane. I'm sure it was around 45 degrees but it felt more like vertical. I would use the word exhilarating to describe the experience & I enjoyed every moment.

The only time I've ever been frigntened in an aircraft was just after take-off in a DC-10 "hangar queen" out of Newark in a storm - but that's another story.  

When this was posted i thought
it was just for  "flying experiences"
BUT, after reading the title agin,
I have other thoughts

My worst "Aiviation" experience

In 1962 I was in the Ark. National Guard
We were call out to do a groud search for a
Downed aircraft, I think it was a beech
The group I was with found it, nine souls
were lost, a 4 month old baby survived
18 hours in 30 f snow and high wind
It was a bad day but with a great
Blessing, I see her at churc every Sunday

Bhofmx