Turbulent times: Our scariest flying stories

'I literally closed my eyes and thought of everyone I loved.' Photo / Katrin Sauerwein, Getty

Flying isn't always a relaxing experience. Herald Travel has collected more of our scariest inflight experiences.

Read on, if you dare...

Is it supposed to bend like that?

As an ex-Wellingtonian now living in Auckland, hair-raising landings on trips back to see my family are a somewhat regular event to be endured. I last went down in late-February and the contrast between take off and landing was stark and quite frankly terrifying. Leaving a balmy Auckland summer behind, I was plunged some 45 minutes later into what felt likeatiny, localised hurricane.

Rain whipped at the window and I wished I was sitting in an aisle seat so my direct line of sight wasn't drawn immediately to the plane's right wing, which was wobbling like crazy. "Surely a plane's wing is not built to withstand so much wobbling," I thought to myself, convinced it was going to snap off at any moment. In the end I got so stressed I just accepted my fate and read my book, figuring I might as well learn something new before plummeting to my inevitable death.

After miraculously landing intact, wing and all, I texted a friend who takes the same route frequently for the same reason as me. "Oh yeah," she replied. "Last time I literally closed my eyes and thought of everyone I loved." I'll consider that for next time.

— Tess Nichol

Congolease air terror

In May of 2000, I was flying on the now-defunct Belgian carrier Sabena from Brussels to Johannesburg. It was on a DC10 and it was a day flight. I had a window seat and over Central Africa I could see black clouds getting close and closer in front. It was getting bumpy and the pilot in a very calm manner said there was a major storm in front of us and we are going to try to go around it.

He explained the planes are designed to cope with weather like this. A few seconds later he banked sharply to the left and sure enough, we skirted the outside of the storm, which seemed to cover the entire Congo. There were drops and rises and I remember clinging to my armrest for a few minutes. It was a scary experience but the cabin crew explained it was a regular occurrence on the route.

— Matt Brown

Right of way

Flying into a small airport in Thailand we landed normally but shortly after the wheels touched the tarmac, the pilot suddenly did a hard left turn that threw all the passengers sharply to their right.

Everyone was looking at each other with a "what the hell was that?" look. As the plane eventually stopped and we waited to exit the plane the pilot came on the PA and said "sorry about that sharp turn there. I noticed a small plane in the corner of my eye and thought he was landing on our runway".

— Cameron McMillan

Given a scolding

Flying from Rarotonga to Aitutaki for our honeymoon was the bumpiest flight I've ever been on — more than just turbulence aboard Rarotongan Airlines' slightly rickety plane. The stewardess had to cancel the drinks service to approximately 12 terrified passengers after she tripped and fell with hot drinks.

— Nathan Hart