Hey Reddit, in what ways and how many times have you almost died? (be honest now)
First time for me, I suppose, was around the beginning of 2002 (right after 9-11 mind you). I was 12-years-old and my family and I were flying back from a trip in Chicago. The plane took off and about 15 minutes into the air there was a loud explosion from the right side of the plane. We immediately dropped, but the pilot gained control after only a few seconds, which felt like eternity. The plane was shaking violently as the captain came on the loud speaker over the screams and sobs of passengers and flight attendants. He said we had blown an engine but he would get us safely on the ground no matter what it took. I'll never forget looking into my mom's eyes as we both thought "this is it." We had to turn back and circle the airport for another half hour or so to burn off as much fuel as possible, all the while the vibrating and shaking of the entire plane made it feel like it was going to break apart any second. The longest runway was cleared for us and was lined with dozens of firetrucks and other emergency vehicles. We had a rough, but safe landing. Everyone hugged each other with tears in their eyes after the landing. A new plane was loaded with an entirely different crew (they all left in a panic) except for the captain, he remained the same and was determined to get us home, which he did.
The SECOND time was a few years later, once again with my family. We rented a 21' fishing boat while on vacation on the Gulf side of Florida. We decided to boat out to an island called Cayo Costa where there were a bunch of birds (mom=bird lover). It took about 3 hours to get there by boat. On the way back the sky turned black and a warning message came on the radio that a freak storm was coming in fast. I had never been in such large swells, and there was nothing around us but water. Waves would swallow the boat in its entirety. My father, an experienced boater, rode the waves with the throttle as best he could as I bailed water from the back of the boat with a cooler as fast as possible, but finally, one wave was big enough to submerge us and the engine, which then cut out. Sinking, hypothermic (I never thought this was possible in Florida... but when the sky is black I guess anything is possible), no land in sight, and with a dead cell phone, we all stood on that boat and thought that was it. With one final try of the ignition, the engine started up, the bow kicked up, and water rush out the back of the boat. We rode the waves until we saw an island what seemed like hours later. The coast guard was contacted, and we were alive.
This is getting too long.... I ALSO FLIPPED a car off the hwy going 70 miles an hour (no one was hurt thank god) and was in another car wreck on the ice where the only thing that saved me and the driver from flying off a 1342452 foot cliff was a shitty wood guard rail.
TL;DR almost died in a plane with a blown engine, sinking boat, car, car, etc.
Let's hear yours!
Posted May 31, 2011, 11:16 PM UTC