Airplane Pilots Share The Scariest Moments They Experienced That Passengers Never Found Out About

Flying can be a scary event for many people, but it's actually quite safe to fly, statistically speaking. But then there are the incidents we don't hear about... Those were the basis for today's burning question from Redditor Splitdesiresagain, who asked the online community: "Airplane pilots of Reddit, what was your biggest "We're all fucked up" moment that you survived and your passengers didn't notice?"
"He ended up..."
Mine is from many many years ago when I was a student pilot. I was 14 I think at the time. I had about 15ish hours done and getting close to soloing for the first time but still had a few hours and more landings to practice. I was doing some basics and getting ready to come back with my instructor to practice some touch and go's for a bit. Coming back through we had to pass through DTW's bravo airspace (means need permission to go through it). A few min before I was about to call for permission, my instructor got really quiet. I looked over at him and he looked really bad. I thought he was going to puke so looking for a bag. But then I notice he isn't breathing. I figure out where I am at and call up DTW approach. Declare a medical emergency and that my instructor was not breathing.
I also told them I am a student and never landed on my own before, and never in a large airport. Detroit approach was amazing at helping me. They gave me an option for DTW or Willow but Willow would have added a good 5-10 min since i was coming in from the SE. Opted for DTW and they were great at giving me vectors while also getting the big jets out of the way. I remember hearing them tell several planes to go around and several more into a hold. Anyway, did my approach and made the most butter smooth landing I have ever made in my life (even till this day). Ambulance was right there on the taxi waiting for me. Turns out my instructor who was only 25 had a heart attack. He ended up being ok. All in all from first call to him in the ambulance was less than 10 min thanks to ATC and DTW tower.
"I'm a CFI..."
I'm a CFI at this point and I'm flying with a student. We see a spider in the cockpit. I'm ok with spiders but I don't want it distracting the student so I mash it.
Student missed the spider but saw my movement and asked what it was. I responded "It was a spider, I killed it" as I'm glancing into the backseat area. I manage to casually add "...why, are you scared of spiders?" without the student noticing the break in the sentence. Turns out the student is scared of spiders.
For the rest of that flight I squished spiders behind my students back as they came forward from the nest I had just spotted in the back of the plane. He never knew.
"I was in the process..."
I was in the process of getting my PPL (private pilot licence) and I was flying circuits solo. Before I took off, the CFO of the flight school asked me if "I was sure it was a good idea to fly, it's pretty windy". I was flying a cessna 152 on a day with wind pushing 15 kts and turbulence around 20. I honestly don't know what I or anyone at the flightschool was thinking letting me (16 years old) take off.
Anyways, a few bumpy circuits go by with no problem. I actually got some great practice landing in turbulence. So the last circuit of the day, I'm on final with full flaps doing the ABSOLUTE minimum speed for approach in a 152, not taking into consideration that the air is super turbulent. For those who don't know, when it's bumpy you should be going a little faster on approach than usual. Anyways I'm quite close to the ground, maybe 300-400 feet and I can HEAR the wind blowing over the sound of the engine.
Suddenly, no wind.
I had just lost 15-20kts of almost direct headwind on final approach with absolutely no airspeed to spare.
I remember my shirt sleeves looked like they were inflating and the plane's stall warning started screaming at me. The controls became totally useless, like a limp computer joystick. Thankfully I had my hand on the throttle like my instructor taught me and for whatever instinctual reason (good instructor probably), I gently pushed the throttle all the way and slightly lowered the nose.
All of this took place in the span of about 5 seconds. I remember what I did, but not thinking about doing it. It was like when you drive somewhere and you suddenly realize you've arrived without remembering driving.
Damn scary.
Anyways I landed the plane just fine and went home and took a nap. My parents said I was pale as a ghost when I got home.
Flying is fun until it isn't.
"It wasn't necessarily..."
I'm a relatively new student pilot and I was just starting to practice pattern work by myself, but my instructor either wanted me to go up with him for a few laps before soloing or with another instructor if he had other students. So, my instructor has another student he's teaching, I end up going up with another instructor just to verify that little 10 hours me can still fly a plane before I practice for an hour or two. We take off, and as I'm on final for our last practice run, it's a little shaky as it is usually in the mid-afternoon in Florida, but I'm confident in my ability to land the plane. Well, to my surprise when I'm about maybe 100 feet above the runway, the plane just drops in an instant like someone took their hand and just pushed down.
Luckily, my instructor must've trained me well because like you, I had my hand on the throttle and just gently pushed the power to full, leveled the nose, and made a smooth go-around. Made me feel good knowing that my brain knew what to do without having to think about it much. Also, the instructor I was with I always thought seemed to look a bit angry, but I was pleasantly surprised when he smiled and complimented me on my quick decision making. Getting a compliment for doing something specifically well (other than like "Good job today!") boosted me as a new student.
It wasn't necessarily a situation where I'm thinking "Oh sh!t, we could've died," but knowing that I'm capable of recovering from a scenario as such and not ending up like the guy who slammed a plane onto the runway and broke the gear.
"He survived..."
Was learning to fly when I worked for the gov. So on my first flight with me taking off, we've been climbing for about 5 minutes and We're going through some gentle turns when instructor says. "were going to head back I don't feel well" He takes over the stick and he looks ashen. He then starts to breath erratically and says I need to help him control the plane. He radios tower and up till now I'm thinking it's a prank. Mayday mayday. He talks me through the whole thing, I'm trying to talk to the tower, repeat info, read gauges remember lessons, listen to him and hope he don't pass out. I was shitting myself. Take off is one thing, but landing? We land like a kangaroo with a rocket up its @ss, I'm surprised the wheels didn't fold. Must of been 4 big bounces, but it's a big runway. Scrub speed, finally get the plane to stop and instructor passes out. He had an heart attack. He survived but only for a few months before I heard he passed away in his sleep. But he got us down. I never continued the lessons.
"We landed..."
Not a pilot but a flight attendant. We landed, everything went smoothly, as we're deplaning the pilot steps out of the flight deck and goes "wow, I'm glad we made it, we lost 2 hydraulics on the way down".
"This entire story..."
This entire story occurred in less than 10 seconds and should've ended with headlines on CNN. Military pilot and not commercial but it still could've ended in a disaster.
Flying a CH47D Chinook helicopter in Iraq mid July 2008 when the temp was over 130 degrees. Packed full with 36 passengers at an altitude of only 100 feet and speed of 140 knots, (lower and faster than you'd ever fly in the US.). We hit a thermal (pocket of warm air) that pushed us up, so I nosed the cyclic (looks like a joy stick between your legs) forward to maintain altitude. I was a brand new pilot flying with a combat vet who wanted me to maintain altitude of 100 feet almost exactly, so no higher than 120 or lower than 80 feet) Nosing the aircraft down kept us from going higher, but we immediately hit a downdraft and the aircraft started to fall like a rock. I pulled back on the cyclic as hard as I could to get the nose up but it hit my body armor and wouldn't go back any further. I watched the altimeter drop all the way to 19 feet and miraculously we started falling and began to climb at the last possible second.
During the debrief the other pilot (now one of my closest friends) who had well over 1,000 combat hours told me he's never been so close to dying before. I wasn't shook up until I heard that....even typing this today gives me chills.
"There's never been a moment like this for me..."
There's never been a moment like this for me because you're always trying something else to save the plane. There's never been a real situation where I had to save a plane from imminent disaster. There's decisions I've had to make that if I chose wrong we can be in a bad spot but never anything like "we're all going to die."
Once when landing a RJ on a short runway out in the northeast, I was carrying a little bit too much speed and caught a gust at the wrong moment in the landing flare. The plane lifted maybe 10' higher and I slowly lowered the nose. I realized at this moment that where the plane will touchdown will not give me a whole lot of opportunity to stop before the end of the runway.
As a matter of fact its probably not going to stop until we get into the trees at the end. I pushed the power up and we did a go around maybe 20-30' feet off the ground. The controllers vectored us around and we landed safely on try #2.
In the simulator we do all the "oh sh!t" stuff and even when a training event goes sideways, we still try to fly the thing until it hits something solid. I can't imagine ever giving up on the plane in flight. There's thousands of decisions made every day on flights by pilots that prevent a difficult situation from becoming dangerous. Flying these days is very cautious and conservative. Safety is always first and nothing is allowed to ever slide.
"I was flying myself..."
I was flying myself and three passengers over the Appalachian mountain on a clear day. We hit some mild turbulence and the door opened to the cabin. The passengers all started panicking so I basically said "chill out guys this happens all the time" and tried closing the door. I couldn't get it shut while also flying the plane so I simple landed at a nearby airfield and closed it on the ground.
After the trip was over I told the passengers that was the first time that had ever happened to me and I was slightly panicked as well.
"Uncoordinated turn..."
Uncoordinated turn and all the fuel went to one side of the plane. Choked both engines... sputtered and cut out. 3000ft high, so brought back the coordination and pointed down a bit. Then started back up. Yikes.
"To set it up..."
I'm a commercial helicopter pilot. Probably the closest moment to "we're f*cked" I ever had was a few years ago.
To set it up, I was ferrying a helicopter by myself to another location about 200 miles away. The helicopter I was flying was set up for IFR (instrument flying), and I'm a fairly experienced IFR captain. The helicopter I was in does NOT like ice. That means that flying in the clouds when it's below freezing is basically impossible. This was in the high arctic, in the early spring. So basically always cold.
Weather wasn't great, but I still wanted to give the trip a shot. If it was bad, I would just turn around and come home. About 50 miles out, the cloud ceiling was coming down, and visibility was dropping. I was over a small frozen lake, and I could see at the other end of the lake that the clouds were right to the ground. At this point I'm at about 300 feet above ground.
I make the call to turn around, and start a left-hand turn, but as I'm half-way through the turn I enter cloud. Under normal circumstances, a VFR helicopter unintentionally entering cloud is often a death sentence, but I'm a trained IFR pilot in an IFR helicopter. I start a climb, as I know there is rising terrain on the side of the lake.
I don't mind flying in cloud. What I do mind is the fact that my helicopter starts icing up instantly. I'm not talking about a bit of ice, I'm talking about a MASSIVE amount of ice, in a helicopter that doesn't like any ice. There is no way I can make it the 50 miles back to the airport to shoot an IFR approach, and I know the clouds are too thick to climb above them. I also can't descend because the ceiling is so low that I risk impacting the terrain if I don't pop out of the cloud soon enough.
I'm running through the options in my head, but my heart rate is going up. This isn't something that normally happens. I'm not the type of pilot that gets into situations that scare me. I'm rapidly running out of time, so I head to a larger flat-area (as indicated on my GPS and maps), set my radio-altimeter (a device that tells you exactly how far above the ground you are) to beep at me when I reach 250 feet, and start descending. I figure if I don't break out by 300 feet, I'm in some serious trouble.
As I'm approaching 300 feet, I break out of cloud. Good visibility, and a clear path all the way back to the airport. I do a normal approach and landing, and shut-down at our hangar. The blades are covered in ice. After I change my underwear, we pull the helicopter into the hangar to let the ice thaw. The next day, the weather is beautiful, and the trip goes off without a hitch.
After flying for 10 years and thousands of hours, it was the only time I was actually scared. I'm glad I didn't have any passengers on board at the time.
"This was about seven years ago now."
This was about seven years ago now. I took my brother and two cousins up for a short sightseeing flight one morning in a Cessna 172. I knew there was some weather coming in so I wanted to get it over with quickly. About twenty minutes in I notice the clouds getting worse and then some lightning off in the distance, definitely time to head back. Heading back I radioed my intentions, uncontrolled airport but with an FBO, and someone radioed back with the current winds. It didn't compute what they said, and in retrospect I should've asked for clarification. Get back to the airport and as I'm on final I realize just how bad the wind is. Having a hard time keeping on centerline and eventually go around on the first try. By now I'm starting to sweating bullets and planning on rerouting if the next attempt doesn't go well.
I make sure to turn the intercom off so my cousins in the back can't hear how panicked I'm becoming, though I did keep my cool through the whole thing. On second attempt I've got the rudder pegged to the left and manage to get the wheels on the ground safely. I taxi to park, shutdown, jump out, and start shaking with adrenaline and let out a huge sigh of relief. Cousins had no idea what just happened, it was just an exciting flight to them. My brother kind of knew what was going on, and I let him in on what I was thinking later. Apparently I had an audience of guys from the FBO watching me as well, probably yelling at me too go somewhere else. I'm honestly surprised sometimes I managed that landing with no incidence, especially since that was basically my first crosswind landing.
"Long time ago..."
Long time ago, back in 1989 I was a First Officer on the 747-100. We pushed back from the terminal in Anchorage and taxied out for a departure to Narita, Tokyo. We were full of people and very close to max take off weight. At the end of the runway (it was my takeoff) I stood on the brakes, stood the thrust levers up and the engineer set full take off power. Released the brakes and off we trundled. And we rolled, and rolled and rolled down the runway. It was not sparkling acceleration by any means. As the end of the runway loomed into sight and take off speed still some distance away... with the lights going... red white red white red red red... the Captain said, and I quote, "best you rotate!" We were a good 20kts below Vr. Not being a total numpty, I slowly and smoothly rotated and the beast flew away off the end of the runway like a lady. We slowly climbed away, cleaned up, turned and headed out West. Not a word was said for a long while. Finally through 20000 feet the engineer launched himself at the (my) performance figures. Nothing was wrong, and we were at full power anyway. It turned out that extra cargo had been loaded in error, and we were well overweight. Apart from me wetting the seat and a raised heart rate, the passengers were none the wiser.
"During my first solo flight ever..."
During my first solo flight ever, I was really excited and wanted to video record the special occasion. So there I was, taxiing down the taxiway with one hand holding the my phone. One thing about old propeller planes is that they're just like old cars, and don't always drive straight. I suppose I was a little too concentrated on making sure my camera was properly angled and focused...next thing I knew my plane ended up rolling off the asphalt...into the grassy ditch
I PANICKED...how tf am I supposed to get this plane out of here
Over the radio, there was a silence, as the controller likely saw what happened from the tower. After a few seconds, probably still speechless at this point, she casually checked on me to make sure I was doing okay
To save my embarrassment, I tried to power up and drive out of the grass back to the asphalt. Much to my surprise, it worked. I did my short flying as planned and returned to the hanger where my instructor was waiting. I have no idea how many people saw what happened, but from the look on his face, I'm pretty sure he knew too. And yes, that video of me driving a plane into a ditch still exists somewhere
...I suppose this is the airplane equivalent of "don't text and drive"
"We could..."
I was a c-141 navigator for my first AF assignment. We were flying a group of families moving back to the US from Japan. As we were in the approach at Travis Air Force base we had a massive multi bird strike. It sounded like the world was ending inside the cockpit it was so loud. Shattered glass that was coated in blood and feathers, bent radome, you name it. Flight controls were fine but we declared an IFE and the co pilot could see well enough out his window to land and I and the FE were over his shoulder to help spot however We could and we landed without incident. The passengers deplaned and even complimented us on the great flight. I will never forget the right side of the passenger bus driving away and the look of horror on those people's faces when they saw what the front of that airplane looked like.
TheBeardItches
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Everyone in life has a bully or six to face.
Even the bullies have bullies.
And sometimes the bully is in the mirror.
Now I know we're supposed to only use our words when standing up to our bullies.
But that is not always the most ideal form of defense.
Words can work.
Sometimes words can cut like knives leading us to victory.
And sometimes words aren't sufficient as we've learned from Reddit.
Redditor KiLLz_Smanrx7 was hoping people would open up about dealing with bullies, so they asked:
"People who fought back against bullies, what caused it and how badly did the bully get hurt?"
I can't remember my bullies.
I think that's the best recourse.
For my Sister
"I think I was about 10. He'd been bullying me and my sisters for a couple of years. He tried to sneak up on my sister on the bus. He stretched out his hand like he was going to pull her hair or something. I made a fist, swung it backwards and him in the eye. He cried."
Fun_in_Space
Shattered Pride
"Little bit of backstory first. We were playing tackle the carrier. I was a fourth grader, and I tackled a sixth grader, and he got pissed off and started to kick me."
"I let it happen a few times a teacher was literally looking right at me. After about the fourth time I grabbed his leg and lifted. He fell backwards then I punched him in the face twice. He only got a bloody nose and shattered pride. We each got suspended for three days. My mom was pissed at the school after they told the story to her. Then when she watched the footage, she asked me in front of the principal if there was a new game I wanted."
"Principal was mad but my mom said 'I never teach my boys to start anything. But when the teacher refused to end it he did by defending himself.' Best three day weekend ever. P.S. we were related threw marriage and he got in huge trouble with his convict dad for getting beat up by a little kid."
Titalator
Keep Walking
"For some reason this kid had it in his head that he could beat me up. I’ve no idea why, or where his assumption came from but he wanted a fight with me to prove he could. I couldn’t care less if he could or couldn’t. It simply didn’t interest me."
"For a week or more he would goad me on the school bus with things like 'who do you think would win in a fight?' Etc. I was having none of it, I wasn’t interested in fighting anyone and I didn’t care what he or anyone else thought on the matter."
"He squared up to me several times off the bus trying to get me to fight with him and I just kept telling him to leave me alone and kept walking away."
"After several days of this and him getting nowhere, as I was walking away chatting with my friend, he ran up behind me and punched me on the back of my head."
"I very calmly asked my friend to hold my bag for me. I walked up to the kid, grabbed hold of him, tripped/threw him to the ground, punched him once in the face/eye, stood up and I walked away. I said nothing. Walked back to my friend, collected my bag and continued walking."
"I didn’t see this kid for a few days, and he unsurprisingly he left me alone after that."
Arisutea
RUN!
"Little league football - I was in 6th - brother in 4th grade - his bully in 5th. He intentionally tried to hurt my brother during practice - so I took off running - jumped in the air, went horizontal and landed my cleats in his chest. He lost his breath for a minute or so. I ran laps for many minutes. Bully no longer bothered little brother."
Sheehanigens
One Punch
"Early high school, was going between classes getting something out of my locker. He shoved my head into my locker and without hesitation I turned around and punched him square in the chest as hard as I could. That was enough to get him to stop."
Qangulous-Yahrnam
What is the stuffing the locker obsession?
It's ASSAULT!
Say Sorry
"I saw a guy my age bullying a younger kid, so I got the entire bus to point at him at say 'bully, bully' over and over. He ended up crying."
"Problem was, my mom and his mom were friends, so my mom took me over to his house and made me apologize to him, so it wouldn't be awkward between her and his mom."
Veritas3333
The Last Day
"In high school i was bullied for a few years (mainly calling names, making 'jokes' and messing with my stuff). I used to never do anything back."
"Then at some point I got angry, turned around (he was standing behind me) and punched him in the face, giving him a bloody nose."
"That was also the last day I got bullied."
"In hindsight i think i mostly got picked on by him because i never did anything back and he did not want to risk any pushback. (Who says violence never solves anything?)"
The_Upperant
The Dude
"The one that comes to mind is the one kept trying to trip me. I finally called him on his sh*t and he slapped me which set me off. I body-slammed him and jumped on him. I got called to the office with my parents, and they wanted to suspend me but every other student that witnessed it stuck up for me and said it was self-defense and I got off with in-school suspension. The dude avoided me for the rest of our time in school."
Diesel-KC
A Strong Kick
"Two guys in high school tried to do the 'tabletop' move (one gets on all fours and the other pushes you). I stepped on the hand of the guy on the ground when I stepped back. Realized what was happening. Kicked him with kind of a horse kick while still stepping on his hand, and then fastballed the 20 oz bottle of Coke I was holding at the other guy’s head as hard as I could and ran away. They were both on the ground reeling."
CheeseIsQuestionable
Let's Wrestle
"Dude knocked my pizza out of my hand at lunch, so I took a running start and kicked him the gut. He got up and started to try to wrestle with me, while my friend tried break us up. All in all it lasted maybe 10 seconds, nobody hurt."
Jon__Snuh
Never touch the pizza.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
Whether it's being part of a congregation or an academic sports team, communities are important because they allow people to have a sense of purpose and belonging.
While some may prefer having their own space, eventually, they'll want to have some sort of interaction with others.
But when there isn't a group representing like-minded people, those feeling dejected and isolated find each other to form their own communities.
However, there are some groups that are comprised of bitter individuals and engage in activities with nefarious intentions under the guise of fellowship.
Curious to hear what these groups might be that are hidden in the shadows or out in plain sight, Redditor playerhamdan asked:
"What are the most horrible cults that existed or exist?"
These are some of the most violent cults known in history.
"The Ant Hill Kids was pretty brutal."
– 123throwawaybanana
Ignorance Is Bliss
"I came here to say just that and I'm not surprised by the amount of people who haven't heard of them. When it comes to cults and serial killers, the worst of the worst fly under the radar because people don't like talking about them."
– Banananabees
Civilian Attackers
"The Rajneeshi cult from Oregon. Responsible for the biggest bio-terrorism attack by a cult (infected 751 with Food Poisoning/Salmonella in the Dalles). I worked with a guy who did wildland firefighting and he remembers working next to them and they had armed patrols on the perimeters. Only good thing is that their central building is now the YoungLife building in Antelope."
– AryLeventhal
Religion gets a bad name.
Too Close To Home
"From personal experience, the church Universal and triumphant that my grandmother was a member of and tried to kidnap me and my brother and take us to their bomb shelters in Montana because the world was about to end."
– LordBaranof
The Mormon Church
"Recovering mormon here. Our FLDS cousins are just what the church looked like under Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. While it might look like cult-lite today, 19th century mormonism definitely belongs on the list."
– couldhietoGallifrey
Jehovah's Witness
"Jonestown was definitely horrific, but the Jehovah's Witnesses' death count is far higher. It is estimated that over 30,000 Jehovah's witnesses have died due to the enforcement of their odd dogmatic interpretation of Mosaic Law on Blood."
"EDIT: They have something called the Hospital Liason Committee; that's Job is literally to show up at hospitals and bully sick dying people into not taking Blood as a treatment. Jehovah's witnesses are not just instilled with fear of being destroyed at armageddon if they take blood but also they are disfellowshipped (shunned) from all their friends and family"
– Pseudodumb
Unholy
"Children of God is pretty brutal. Joaquin Phoenix was born into it."
– impotentpote
Scientology
"The Louis Theroux documentary on them was chilling. He focused on interviewing ex-members and it showed the extreme lengths that the church will go to in order to harass former members. They had people turn up at their houses at all hours, sent them mass amounts of junk mail and threatening letters, had people just standing around staring at them all day, trying to get them in trouble at work, trying to get them in trouble with the law, calling their relatives etc. Just relentless bullying of anyone who decided to leave."
"It's like an entire religion made up of insane jealous ex girlfriends."
– Wind_Yer_Neck_In
It's truly terrifying how an organization can easily influence you without being cognizant of it happening.
"Elan One is one of these."
"Back in the 80's, during the time of the Troubled Teen industries height, Elan opened up to the public as a private institution under the goal of helping young adults and teenagers with education and also maturing them."
"This was not the case at all."
"The college benefitted off of the money to help fund their luxuries while they also regularly put each student through mental abuse. If I remember correctly, there were these group circles they'd have them do and they would force one random kid to fight the one in the center, or sometimes just have the biggest and the smallest against each other."
"If a student had not done well, or had not been 'up to standard', they would be tormented in different ways. I remember seeing footage of some kids wearing 'D U N C E' cones on their heads, and one where they put a kid in a bunny suit and left him out to sit in the cold."
"Conditions were horrible according to those who survived the place and escaped. I believe one source stated that there was even a basement where some kids would be strung up and lashed for hours on end."
"If you to know a more detailed explanation, look up 'The Cult in a Boarding School' by Nexpo on YouTube."
– JustFrenchBryan
Conspiracy Theorists
"QAnon, if you take a look on r/QAnoncasualties you’ll see how many lives it’s torn apart. One day you’re married to someone you love deeply and have a couple kids with them, and the next they’ve gone down this rabbit hole and you’re getting a divorce and trying to protect your kids from your former spouse who won’t stop talking about the end of the world, bloody uprisings, and other nasty things."
"Sometimes they even go so far as to try to poison themselves or their family with quack cures pushed by QAnon influencers"
– Straight_Ace
Grade school clicks can sometimes feel cultish.
I remember I was invited to a birthday party for one of the popular third graders in school, and I remember being thrilled at receiving an invitation after thinking they never liked me.
But my mom was wise to their ways after I was given a list of items to bring as presents to the birthday party and confirm ahead of time in order to secure my invite.
Mom didn't let me go to the ball, and for that, I'm grateful.
People Break Down How A Split-Second Decision Changed Their Entire Life
We've all been faced with tough decisions at least once in our life.
In some cases, we've had time to think very carefully as to what we decide to do, a few days, weeks, or even months or years, and thus felt confident and happy with the decision we made.
In other cases, however, we might not have had the luxury of time, and had to make a decision in the blink of an eye.
More often than not, it's these split-second, sometimes impulsive decisions, which might end up drastically changing our lives.
Sometimes for the better, and sometimes not.
"What is a split-second decision you made that change your life?"
Going With Your Conscience
"Had a boss who asked me to help him commit fraud."
"At the time I was very heavily in debt and badly needed the income, nonetheless I resigned immediately."
"Luck shined on me and I got another job a month later, just in time to pay bills."
"A few years after that I looked up my old boss, he got caught and served time."- GreedyNovel
Why It's Worth Pulling Your Eyes From The Screen
"Quitting a game of Call of Duty Zombies (whatever the one was in 2010/2011)."
"My friends in the dorm would play this constantly and were addicted."
"One day, my friend comes in and says he's going up to his gf's dorm to meet her new roommate, did anyone want to join."
"Normally, nothing could pry me from that game, but something compelled me to say yeah, sure."
"My buddies I was playing with were pissed."
"Went up there and had the closest thing to love at first sight I can describe."
"I still remember looking at this girl vividly."
"She's now my wife, and we have a 5 month old son together."- IslandsOnTheCoast
Think Twice Before Taking Off Your Pants
"My friend ('B') had just gotten off of work and would drive past my house on the way to hers every night."
"One night (December 27, 2007, to be exact) B decided to call me while leaving work and invite me to the bar for a drink."
"I had already started drinking and was about to decline the offer when she told me, 'I’m pulling into your driveway'."
"'You might as well put on some pants and come have a beer with me'.”
"No more than 30 seconds after we walked in, she was approached by another friend of hers ('N') and introduced us to each other."
"One year and three four days later - December 31, 2008 - N and I were married and have been ever since."
"If I hadn’t made the decision to put on pants, I likely wouldn’t have met my wife."- A_Prickly_Cactus
Making The Right Decisions For Your Health
"Making myself an appointment for in-patient rehab consultation."
"I couldn’t decide if I was being dramatic or necessary."
"5+ years sober now!"- jn7nh0
Some Feelings Just Can't Be Hidden
"I asked my best friend 'Do you want to talk about the unspoken thing'."
'It was a very impulsive decision, but something I had wanted to say for a long time. she responded 'What, the fact that we love each other, like romantically?''- Winter-Algae8569·
The More The Merrier
"January 2020, a coworker asked if I knew anyone that wanted to adopt a puppy."
"We had three dogs, were not considering another, and even discussed that three was definitely more than enough."
"For whatever reason, I asked him for pics and sent them to my wife."
"That evening we had a 4 month old pup that got along amazing with the family and the other dogs."
"Two months later I was laid off unexpectedly, not even related to covid."
"I was unemployed for over a year and this dog was by my side non-stop."
"Now, everyone in the family loves Rosy, but me and her have a special bond I've never had with a dog before."
"I'm literally tearing up as I write this, a 40yo bearded trucker, ffs."
"I just can't explain how special she is and how important she was to helping me get through the last couple of years."
"Not to dismiss my amazing wife, to be clear."
"When I'm home, I can't go to a different room without her coming along."
"When I'm gone for the night, she whines at my wife while going between her and the door, so I'm told."
"I guess that's not as 'life-changing' as some of these stories, but my life is definitely changed by the presence of her."- curlyfat
Just When She'd Given Up All Hope...
"A person who was a stranger to me at the time logged in to delete her online dating profile."
"There was a message in her inbox."
"It was from me."
"15 years later, we are 12 years happily married."- mekdot83
You Can Never Be Too Sure...
"Going for a third opinion after being misdiagnosed by two doctors in a day for unnatural tiredness."
"The third doctor rushed me off to get urgent blood tests, and it turns out I had severe blood poisoning and was on the verge of organ failure."
'If I'd not gone for a third opinion, I'd be dead now."- Wickywahwah
Safety First!
"Not sure if this counts, but when I was 13 we had this little 50cc dirt bike that I would ride around the block every now and again."
"I was out riding one day and I start doing jumps off the curb."
"I remember landing sketchily and thinking 'a helmet would nice' so I went and out one on, did another curb jump and sure enough wipe and snake the side of my head on the pavement and concussed myself."
"I am sure I would’ve died without the helmet."- buttermansix
Always Follow Your Heart
"To quit my tenured job."
"I'm now living in a different city, completing a degree for a profession I am both interested in and naturally good at."
"If you'd told me 5 years ago that this is what I would be doing at the start of 2023, I would have had a panic attack over the thought of just dropping everything, quitting my profession and moving hours away from my home city."
"I was suffering then, but I didn't realize I had the strength to do it until I needed to do it."- ana-neemous
A Little Help Goes A Long Way
"A neighbor of mine is a teacher at an elementary school."
"One day, 6 years ago, she asked me if she could give my phone number to the parents of one of the kids at the school who needed tutoring."
"I wrote down my number for her and started tutoring the kid."
"Over time, I basically became part of the family."- AlmostChristmasNow
Really Knowing Who Your Friends Are
'Cutting my group of friends out of my life.'
"I always felt like crap around them, and one day I realized that they would never ever be there when I needed them."
"So I just noped out and changed numbers."- tsoro
It's always scary to make a decision in the heat of the moment.
However, as the saying goes, "the heart knows what it wants".
When men are hoping to impress a woman, they often agonize over the perfect thing to say.
Something which will get their attention and make them feel good about themselves, and hopefully not offend or demean them.
If they find the right words, they may likely find themselves with a new girlfriend, future wife, or even a life-long friend.
After all, finding the perfect compliment can go a long way.
Of course, this is a two-way street, and men also enjoy it when they are complimented.
Perhaps even more, and arguably, a little too much.
"Guys of Reddit, what is the best compliment a girl could give you?"
No Pretending Required
"I can be myself around you."- noah1000000999
"Whenever a girl says she feels safe around me or feels secure/comfortable makes me feel so good it's indescribable."
"Makes me feel very manly."- kipskip_
I'll Take Them All!
"Pretty much any compliment will do."- Mysterious_Drama2772
The Devil Is In The Details
"When I was younger, I had a meeting with a beautiful, slightly older woman from a different organization that I admired in our industry."
"When we were shaking hands and saying hello, she thoughtlessly blurted out, 'Oh, you're cute', then apologized and said she's not hitting on me and that she's married."
"Then, she tried to change the topic by talking about one of my recent projects, which I was surprised she knew."
"Both were nice compliments."- NoConsideration5775
Keep It Simple
"I like you."- Smirknlurking
It's Worth the Weight
“'I love you'."
"Yet to hear it but I imagine it sounds good."- Or4ngut4n
Or Just "You're Cute" In General...
"'You're cute when you're excited'."
"Still riding the high from that one, and that was 3 years ago."- JackCooper_7274
Striking Resemblance
"Girl at the mall told me I looked like Ryan Gosling."
"She couldn’t be more wrong, the comment was an affront to everything Ryan Gosling stands for."
'T'was appreciated however."
"Gonna be riding that high for the next 3-37 years"- -Praetoria-
When You Got It, Flaunt It...
"A girl at work told me another girl told her that I have a nice a**."
"She tried to keep the girl anonymous but I tricked her into admitting who it was."
"The one that told me also complimented me on my legs and looks in general."
"Feels weird being complimented on my a** and legs as a guy but I guess it's better than nothing?"- Lambesis96
It's All In The Eyes...
"A female friend of mine once told me I had 'kind eyes' when I smiled."
"Best compliment I ever received."
"I just smiled normally and genuinely, and she picked up on it."
"Man, I miss her."- midnight_reborn
Great Hair Is Hard To Resist...
"'You are hot' would be very surprising yet welcome."
"I also get "your hair looks great" a lot."- KomradeElmo0
Setting Standards For The Future
"Back when I was 9 years old my mum's friend meeting me for the first time told me that once I grow up I will be a super sexy handsome dude all the gals will drool over."
"That didn't happen but it was nice to hear back then."- playerhamdan
Should anyone find that special guy, and want to let him know just how special they think he is, all of the above compliments are a good way to start.