Traveler’s Nightmare Flights

May 13, 2013

in Odds & Ends Stories

I have done a lot of traveling and for the most part haven’t had any major issues, other than delays and missed connections. I have been on a couple of flights that were an absolute nightmare.

The first experience was in 1997. I was flying down to Florida from Reagan National Airport on Midway Airlines (which no longer exists). On the first leg of that trip (DCA-RDU), when the stewardesses were coming around with the beverage carts, I see a guy bolting towards the bathroom, covered in vomit, leaving a trail of vomit from his seat to the bathroom. A minute or two later, a stewardess got on the PA and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, for the rest of this flight we will be serving canned drinks only.” A few people started chuckling. It turns out that this man started getting sick right as they were serving drinks in his row. As he was getting out of his seat to go to the bathroom he vomited in the ice tray on the beverage cart, and then all over the floor. He spent the whole flight in the bathroom. My seat was all the way in the back where the bathrooms are so the smell was awful.

On the second leg of that trip (RDU-FLL), we hit some bad turbulence, worse than any turbulence I’ve ever experienced before. It came very unexpectedly; the seat belt sign was off and the stewardesses were walking around the cabin collecting trash. It caused one of them to fall down and another to spill soda all over another passenger. It scared the crap out of me. Just after that, all the lights in the cabin went out and it was pitch black (it was night time), which scared me even more. A few seconds later they came back on and a stewardess got on the PA saying, “Sorry, I hit the wrong button.” Every time I’ve flown since then and hit turbulence, I always remember this experience.

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

franc May 29, 2013 at 12:54 pm

Yikes, I think airlines gave up the "air sickness bags" years ago. Looks like a little too soon.

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RedHead0186 July 10, 2013 at 12:28 pm

I think some airlines still have them? I've seen them on flights recently.

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Pedro February 4, 2014 at 5:03 pm

That turbulence and the lights going off sounds horrible. I would have soiled my pants

Reply

Jennifer R. Povey April 4, 2014 at 3:00 pm

Sorry, but you don't win – I've BEEN the person the stewardess poured the soda all over! (No, it wasn't the same flight. I can't remember if it was DCA to ORD or ORD to STL, but it was near Chicago).

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