A flight from Paraguay to South Africa that went badly wrong. The plane nearly fell out of the sky and the oxygen masks dropped. People were screaming but the pilot saved the day, and then apparently never flew again.
How close have you come to death?
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
There are so many instances when I’ve come very close to death that it’s difficult to pick one.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 209 →
Michael Stipe
American singer
Scarlet fever, 1962. Hypothermia, 1974. Lightning strike, 1986.
Julian Lloyd Webber
British cellist and conductor
Twice I should have died in car accidents when both my cars were written off. I was completely unhurt; the cello was completely unhurt, too. A complete miracle.
Brendan Gleeson
Irish actor and director
Getting knocked down by a bus. The experience left me with the exhilaration of life enhanced.
More from Chris Bonington
View profile →Whenever things seem absolutely terrible, to see that you’re alive and that’s all that matters.
I was a huge daydreamer and imagined myself as a successful general leading his troops into battle.
The loss of Conrad.
It’s my snoring that keeps Loreto awake!
Resourceful, resilient and compassionate.
Everest the hard way in 1975: leading the expedition that succeeded where so many people had tried and failed. That was the most complex mountaineering challenge I ever faced. I spent hours at night in a little tent thinking about what the next problem would be and how to solve it.
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- What happens when we die? 51 answers
- What would you like to leave your children? 44 answers
- How would you like to die? 44 answers
Also answered this
Kevin Pietersen, Chris Hoy, Mo Farah, Bradley Wiggins, Adam Peaty, Judy Murray
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