20 Bizarre Airline Stories That Would Make People Think Twice About Flying

Many passengers have experienced some pretty turbulent situations while flying on various airlines.

Ever laugh at someone for having a fear of flying? Well in this article you won’t be laughing as much that’s for darn sure. Seriously speaking if the current reader plans on taking a flight in the next couple of days scrolling down this article might not be the best idea..... If you want to toughen it out nonetheless we’ll give you a little preview beforehand. The article features plenty of eerie situations from paranormal activity, passengers disappearing from a flight and several alarming situations that no passenger or flight crews want to face. If you’re still willing to stick it out and scroll through this article we commend your bravery!

Paranormal activity in particular isn’t as uncommon as you might think. We have numerous examples in this article; we feature situations like random footsteps on top of the plane, passengers seeing a stewardess that doesn’t exist, a woman claiming to have a demon in her body and a man telling a stewardess to tell his wife that he’s okay - the only problem is that man passed out away years ago... We have much more paranormal wackiness along with chilling tales of dangerous flight experiences. A propeller falling off mid-flight or dropping 1000 feet out of nowhere isn’t something we want to experience. What about a gator taking a bite out of the plane’s wing? Well touch base on all those freak scenarios throughout the article.

Enjoy the article folks and like always be sure to share it with a friend. Without further ado here are 20 chilling airline stories you shouldn’t read before taking off. Let’s get started!

20 The Drone Strike

via slatemagazine.com

Nowadays it isn’t uncommon for a drone camera to nearly collide with an airplane. Due to this reason several states have now listed sanctions preventing drone flying in particular areas.

Things didn’t go to plan in Canada, as last year for the first time a plane encountered quite the scare getting hit by a drone device.

Just prior to landing in Quebec, the drone struck one of the wings on the plane. According to CNN this was one of the may drone incidents reported with near 2,000 complains, 131 of those were related to aviation. The Canadian Transport Minister claims the situation could have been much worse; "If a drone were to hit the window of a cockpit and incapacitate the pilot, or were to damage in anyway an engine, this could have catastrophic results."

19 Thailand &amp; The Dolls On The Plane

via thestar.com

This one is truly bizarre but in Thailand, the dolls known as Luk Thep are allowed on a plane and in fact, the person that brings it on the plane must buy an extra ticket. The doll is also fed like an actual human throughout the flight as well. That’s quite creepy, just imagine sitting next to that during an actual flight! So why bring the dolls along for the ride? According to News.com.au a lot of it has to do with good fortune; “The spirits are said to reward those that care for them with everything from help with alcoholism to financial success.”

18 The 11ft Long Gator

via travelandleisure.com

This is a surprising scenario you can only find in the movies. However it turned into a real-life incident last summer in Orlando. As the flight was about to make a smooth landing, out came this 11-foot gator leaping through the air and taking a bite out of the aircraft.

The gator passed on impact however the plane had some serious damage to the wing.

The gator managed to get a big chunk out of it. The real irony here is that according to the Daily Star this isn’t the first time such a scenario takes place; “There are over a million alligators in the US state and four have been hit by aircraft since 1988.”

17 Embraer 14s 1000 Feet Drop

via lifehacker.com

This one is every passengers worst nightmare. Just imagining the scenario of a plane suddenly dropping 1000 feet makes most of us want to gag or at least, it turns our stomachs over a bit. During a flight from Denver to Durango that’s exactly what transpired. According to the Reddit tale, the turbulence got so bad that the flight suddenly dropped 1000 feet while in the air. The aircraft employee recalls thinking her life was done while all the passengers screamed in terror. The nightmare scenario luckily ended with the pilot restoring the plane's course despite all the maintenance issues caused by the rocky turbulence.

16 Christine &amp; The Toilet Flushes

via thepointsguy.com

“LIGHTS that turn themselves off and on. Unusual sounds. Sudden temperature spikes or drops.” Clearly aircraft #502 wasn’t everyone’s favourite plane ride. According to the legends this plane is haunted. The ghost on the flight goes by the name of Christine. Lots of wacky behaviours took place on the flight. For one, the toilets would constantly flush themselves.

We can understand a mechanical problem but there apparently was no problem with this toilet according to the stewardess that recalls the flight experience.

It was the flight that no employee wanted to work due to so many freaky occurrences while in the air. Steer clear from aircraft #502 folks!

15 The Man That Vanished On A Red-Eye Flight To JFK

via rd.com

This is another tale from a Reddit user. The flight was a lengthy one and almost six hours from San Francisco to New York City. During the red eye flight the airline employ greeted a man in his 40s dressed quite well. He sat in the back of the plane. At the start of the trip the crew specifically counted 35 passengers. Here’s when things get a little weird. Just prior to landing the number was somehow reduced to 34... They figured the man was in the bathroom but he was not! A couple of the crew members even had a conversation with the missing passenger who spoke about his wife and kids. At the airport the crew checked the flight information and there were in fact 34 passengers registered for the flight...

14 Updraft Scare

via visibleearth.nasa.gov

We tend to think that turbulence is one of the scariest issues for pilots to deal with. However, there are worse things and one of them is an updraft scare. For those that are on the flight this seems like some heavy turbulence but to the pilots this is one of the scariest issues that can truly take anyone’s breathe away. Jon Nance recalls a situation featuring an updraft with The Express"A plane flies into a massive updraft, which you can't see on the radar at night, and it's like hitting a giant speed bump at 500 miles an hour. It throws everything up in the air and then down very violently. That's not the same as turbulence, which bounces everyone around for a while."

13 The Woman With The Things In Her Body

via pinterest.com

Remember that time you took a flight and a woman claimed to have a thing in her body. No? Well the passengers of Air China certainly remember the incident quite vividly. Back in 2017 during a flight, the captain decided to turn the plane back around due to an older woman passing out. When she awoke things got real strange. The lady became impossible to deal with claiming things were in her body. It took six employees to settle her down. According to the witnesses it seemed as though she had a demon inside of her. Thankfully once the flight landed she was able to get medical treatment.

12 The Announcement No One Wants To Hear

via confessionsofatrolleydolly.com

When it comes to in-flight announcements even during situations of panic and disarray it is best to keep the passengers as calm as possible. Pilots make this a priority, even in the event of impact the crew does their best to keep things calm and not scare the passengers. This certain employee didn’t get the memo.

During a flight from Glasgow to Dublin the plane experienced a long delay due to severe weather conditions.

Instead of calming down the passengers the crew member made this announcement; “The captain cannot take off when we have ice on the wings and we don’t want to [perish].” This message got recorded by a passenger. So what did the passengers get as a compensation for those chilling words, a $7 voucher...

11 Sterling Airlines Footsteps On The Roof

via wikimedia.com

It’s hard to get much creepier than hearing footsteps on top of the plane when you’re over 30,000 feet up in the air. The 737-8Q8 Sterling Airline aircraft became a plane that no crew member wanted to be a part of. The plane grew a bad reputation as being one of the more spooky rides filled with paranormal activities during a flight. Nothing gets spookier than hearing footsteps on top of a plane – that’s incredibly unsettling. It is believed that is the spirit of a woman that passed away on the flight many years ago. Maybe try avoiding Sterling Airlines altogether to play it safe....

10 The Venice Passenger That Saved The Day

via rfc.ca

Departing out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey this could have been a life-threatening trip to Venice had it not been for a passenger. As the United Airlines flight was about to take off the passenger saw gas pouring out of the aircraft’s wings just prior to take off. Making matters worse the crew was not aware of the issue and the flight was about to takeoff on the runway. Thankfully the passenger made the crew aware and the flight was able to turn back before hitting the sky. Had it not been for the passenger who knows how that scary situation would have turned out!

9 Flying With The Door Open

via fortune.com

Let’s imagine this scenario for a second. You’re snoozing off and likely just woke up as the plane is about to land. It hits the ground and out goes the emergency exit door... Oh boy! According to CNN this nightmare became a reality earlier this year for a flight landing in the capital of Nigeria, Abuja. It was a scary moment for the Dana Airlines passenger.

According to the witnesses on the flight the door seemed to be incredibly unsteady throughout the entire flight.

A passenger let the crew know about the troubles earlier in the flight however they made nothing of it. The airline issued a statement blaming it on the wind.

8 Qantas Flight 72

via wikipedia.com

One of the scariest things to deal with for a pilot is things that are out of their control. This is exactly what happened during the chilling Qantas flight to Perth from Singapore. According to Telegraph, Kevin Sullivan played the role of hero in this situation as his computer went into complete disarray. The malfunction led to several steep drops injuring numerous passengers. Despite the troubles Sullivan was able to stabilize the plane with an emergency landing. He recalls the October day during an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald; “It’s the worst thing that can happen when you are in an aeroplane - when you are not in control.”

7 Fallen Propeller

via aviationcv.com

“Look mom the propeller fall off.” This became a reality during a scary Regional Express Airlines flight. It was a small plane with only 19 passengers on board. Let’s just say those 19 were in for an experience they’ll never forget. As the plane approached the Sydney Airport out went once of its propellers. It literally fell off and completely detached from the plane altogether. Luckily the propeller did not touch the fuelling area or that could have been an even worse situation. A similar situation took place with five other aircrafts. It was deemed as an issue with the propeller part.

6 Runway Miss

via thetravel.com

Near misses are a common occurrence especially at the runway area. For that reason airports tend to be very careful when scheduling departures and arrivals in order to avoid this headache. However it tends to happen more times than you might think and passengers usually think its some minor turbulence. A pilot recalls the scary incident with Stuff; "I have come very close a couple of times when evasive manoeuvres were made. Unless you really have to crank and bank, most passengers notice the movement but think it's due to turbulence. But there's usually one or two back there that ask about it. At that point, I'm pretty honest, but never reveal how close we really were."

5 Eastern Airlines Flight #401

via deskgram.com

We end of the article with one of the most infamous tales, the chilling story of flight #401. Way back in 1972 the flight crashed due to problems with the gear box. The three pilots from the flight passed away. Following the flight things got really spooky. According to the crew several different pilots were seen onboard throughout the flight only for them to disappear shortly after. Some of the pilots that disappeared also warned the crew about ongoing plane issues. It is also said that some of the plane parts were switched mid-flight which resulted in the crash – now that’s pretty darn eerie. The engineer Don Repo who passed on the flight was linked to several paranormal incidents on Eastern flights years after his passing.

4 Tell My Wife It’s Ok

via youtube.com

We thank The Richest for this chilling tale. During a flight, an older man got the attention of a stewardess while standing in the back of the plane. According to the employee this man was visible and very much present. He told the worker to tell his wife that everything is okay. Here’s when things get creepy or for some, real creepy. When the stewardess went to relay the message to his wife, she smiled and let the flight employee know that her husband had passed away and that it was a common occurrence for her late husband to let her know that all was well. The attendant turned white and when she went back to the area he was nowhere to be found.

3 The Flight Attendant Ghost

via cheatsheet.com

“Sorry miss can I get some peanuts.” Stewardess doesn’t respond and continues walking with some freaky red eyes.... This scary scenario took place on a commercial flight. The real kicker here is that most of the folks on the aircraft saw this mysterious stewardess walking up and down the aisles. Several passengers tried to get her attention throughout the flight. The only problem is that she never responding. It was later revealed that there was no flight attendant at all. According to the aircraft employee this was a common occurrence. The ghost even had a nickname as the Senior Flight Attendant.

2 The Screaming Intercom

via yahoo.com

Another haunted aircraft, this one with Constellation International Airlines. This one has a chilling twist however. The person haunting the aircraft is a former flight attendant that lost her life after leaving one of her shifts due to an illness. She was involved in a car accident on her way home.

It seems like she’s still a flight attendant in her second life.

She is known to use the plane intercom making several bizarre announcements. The ghost is also known for asking passengers for help. The plane is rightfully known as the Scairbus.

1 The Kids That Nobody Saw Except For The Pilots

via iflya380.com

This chilling incident took place on a smaller plane, the B737. According to the stewardess that recalled the story with The Insider the cockpit area featured a little more room in front of the door. That’s when things got weird. The captain called the staff telling them not to make children play in the area. Here’s the problem, the staff saw no children.... Ultimately both pilots dropped the issue however they would resume at the hotel asking the crew why they didn’t bring the kids to their seats. Things got real freaky as the crew insisted they never saw any children. Ultimately the pilots dropped the story as it was clearly getting to the crew. However they remained adamant that two children were playing outside the cockpit area throughout the flight.

Sources: Reddit.com, NyPost.com, TheRichest.com, Independent.co.uk

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