If you're like me, then every waking moment you spend on a plane is used trying to figure out if that little noise you just heard means that crashing is imminent. Fortunately, the answer to that question is no, but what about the times when it isn't? Every pilot's number one priority is the safety of their passengers, and sometimes that means keeping them in the dark. These 19 commercial pilots decided to share times when things almost hit the turbofan, but their passengers likely had no idea. 

Despite what your anxiety might tell you, planes don't just fall out of the sky. Takeoff, landing, and plain old taxiing are far more dangerous than the flying itself, and these answers reflect that. As one pilot put it, some people like to try out the "big sky theory," and take off without telling anybody else. The result? Some near misses for everybody on approach, and a nightmare for an air traffic controller. 

But while many pilots did have stories, most didn't come from the major commercial airliners, and those that did recounted impeccable safety records over decades. Some stated they'd never had a close call of any kind. Here are 19 potential airline disasters that passengers never knew about.