The following happened in August 1989. I was 8 years old and we have been to Constanta/Romania at the coast of the Black Sea for holiday, like the previous 2 years.

The route was Berlin Schönefeld (SXF / EDDB) - Constanta (CND / LRCK) - back to Berlin Schönefeld with Interflug, the national airline of the DDR. Normally this route was served by an Ilyushin Il-62M but this time they had some operational problems because they lost one of their Il-62 just a few weeks ago (more about this accident). So, after several hours of delay an old Ilyushin Il-18 was used as replacement.



It looked like it wasn't used for years, rust and buckles everywhere.
But the flight to Romania went smooth, as far as one can use this term for this ear-battering loud aircaft.

2 weeks went by and it came the day of our returning flight home. I was a little bit afraid about the possibility that this old scrap heap may be used again. Finally, 11 in the evening, my worry came true as the bus stopped just in front of the only Interflug machine standing on the parking area, we boarded the Il-18 again.

And the nightmare began ...

Shortly after takeoff we came into a heavy thunderstorm somewhere over the balkan. The heaviest thunderstorm I've ever experienced. The heavy turbulences nearly pulled you out of the seat. Everything was shaking, crunching sounds, catering stuff flown through the cabin. Lightning everywhere, uncountable strikes into the wings, the light was jittering.
About 3 times it seemed, the pilots completely lost control. We rapidly lost altitude and moved nose diving down to earth. The engines were howling louder and louder. We could clearly see now a small village, streets, houses, could see the curtains in the windows. We all felt like we wouldn't see the next morning... But the aircaft finally was ruggedly pulled out of the dive everytime and we steeply climbed back into the stormy clouds.
Inside the cabin was a scary silence. A woman was praying in silence, I could see one crying. In the people faces, if not covered with sick-bags, you could clearly see their fear, their fear of death. I trembled with fear, in a calm moment a flight attendant gave me her jacket.

This flight seemed endless, the storm was lasting the whole night long.

Finally some rays of the rising sun could be seen through the more and more decreasing clouds. We made it. Only short time later we landed in Berlin and left the aircraft tired, hungry (the whole flight was made without service) and with shivering knees.

Noone ever will forget this flight. That flight that changed my life. It changed and influenced my life because after that experience you had only 2 choices: 1; never entering an aircraft again because of the fear of flying and the fear it may happen again, but this time with another ending or 2; forget the fear, beeing hardened and completely love and enjoy flying.
As you may guess, I choose the second option. That experience was the beginning of my aviation love.
There isn't something making more fun like flying 3 hours through heavy monsun weather turbulences over the Gulf of Bengalen, beeing the only one in the aircraft enjoying and having a smile on his face, isn't it? :)