Perfectly Timed Photos Capturing Moments When It All Went Wrong

Everything from pilots getting ejected from fighter jets all the way to 330mph dragsters airborne, we’ve collected some incredible photos capturing those exact moments where everything goes completely wrong.

Made In China

This is such a nervewracking photo to just look at. Just imagine how it felt being nearby while this happened! It looks like there is going to be a whole lot of ‘made in China’ goodies floating in the water after this.

F-16 Falcon

This photo is from 1982. We can clearly see a F-16 Falcon pilot ejecting himself from the plane. While we’re sure he was well-trained for a situation like this, it must have been a truly terrifying experience!

F1’s Felipe Massa

This is when he knew he messed up. Here we have Williams F1’s Felipe Massa turning completely upside down during one of his races. We just hope he made it out okay and didn’t get hurt in the process.

Red Bull

Some of the most extreme people on earth are Red Bull athletes. Just look at this picture for proof! Who else would stand outside of a plane while in the air to pretend to hold another airplane? All for the sake of a photo?

Air-Boat Ride

Let’s be honest, if this was an alligator-infested swamp, this would be crowned ‘worst ride in history’. It seems it wasn’t, or the people would have much more frightened looks on their faces while this was happening.

Swamp Bugging Racing

Who knew a sport like this even existed? We sure didn’t. It looks like swamp bugging racing is becoming somewhat of a trend! We must say, it does look riveting to watch. We’d be on the edges of our seats.

Video Shoot

This must have been one serious video shoot to include this! Ken Block is here in the process of a Gymhana shoot, looking nonchalant as anything. Who doesn’t sit in a tilted, airborne, tractor for the sake of content?

Caterham Formula 1

This photo is rather incredible when you think about it. We can clearly see the exact moment when the suspension on the Caterham Formula 1 car lost its grip and shattered to pieces. It just goes to show the importance of each piece in a racecar. Just one little break, and the entire thing fails.

3 Lamborghinis

Back in 2013, there was a supercar rally in Europe that ended badly, with three Lamborghinis crashing. It was a chain reaction, with one of them going up in flames. We just hope everyone got out alright.

Ferrari

This driver that landed their Ferrari convertible in a pond must have either been asleep or very, very distracted. At any rate, the locals seem to be baffled about this discovery of a sports car in the pond. Truth be told, we don’t blame them.

Much Closer

When this guy planned on going jet-skiing that day, we bet he didn’t think of anything like this happening. From the look on his face, it’s clear to see this was definitely not planned. In any case, it must have been a pretty cool trick to see. As a bystander, that is.

The Right Pillow

We all have those days when we’re so tired that any object nearby looks like it would make the perfect pillow. This elephant clearly gets it. Why wouldn’t it think that little metal thing near it would make a great pillow? We can’t blame it.

Space Shuttle

This must have been a sight to see when it happened. Here we can see the debris from space shuttle Columbia back in 2003. The scientists look baffled as anything while inspecting the wreckage all around them.

Mercedes Crash

Here we have another terrible racecar crash. It took place in 2013 as well. This time, it was Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes that failed him during a race. All we can say is we’re relieved he made it through.

A Little Too Much

It seems like this guy got a little too excited while jetskiing and got too much momentum, leading him to lose control of the jetski. In any case, this picture is awesome, if you ask us. Again, we just hope he wasn’t hurt.

Porsche 964 RSR

It’s so crazy to think about how easily things can take a bad turn during a race (literally!). Here we have a Porsche 964 RSR going airborne in a rally after it hit a concrete barrier. Just one little wrong move can be lethal both to the driver and the onlookers.

Take Flight

Things seem to have gotten interesting in this particular race, wouldn’t you say? This racecar literally took flight after striking another one on the track. We bet the driver didn’t see that coming at all.

Costa Concordia

Imagine being on a cruise and having it capsize. Pretty scary, right? Well, just that happened in 2012 to the Costa Concordia. It hit a rock off of Tuscany and capsized, leading everyone on-board to use the lifeboats and rush off.

Cruise Ship

When going on a cruise, you typically look forward to a relaxing time and enjoying some nice traveling to a few places. Well, the guests on this British cruise ship, Balmoral, didn’t have that luxury. The boat took on a 50 ft wave during the 10-day cruise. That must have been fun.

Big Mistake

Like we’ve said earlier, when it comes to car racing, one wrong move – even a little one – can have big consequences. This is another example. The car clearly flipped completely over during a race. Who knows what happened after this picture was taken?

Russian-Made K-36D

We don’t know what happened before this picture that led to this, but here we see a co-pilot of a Russian-made K-36D getting ejected from the plane. Is there meant to be a fire in the process? We’re not sure…

Stunt Goes Wrong

When it comes to flying planes in general, things are rather dangerous and can take a bad turn quickly as well, just like with car racing. Air shows especially are risky due to all those complicated tricks the pilots do. Here an air show stunt went wrong as one of the pilots collided with the rear wing of another plane.

Formula Drift Accident

During car races, it’s no real surprise that accidents happen rather often. With the high speeds and sharp turns, it’s bound to happen at some point or another. In the final of the Road Atlanta Formula Drift, this accident happened. It doesn’t seem to be so bad, however.

A Wrong Turn

After navigating a turn wrong, we can see a GT3 BMW getting air in this photo. It looks like it’s a plane about to take off at any second, honestly. Let’s just hope that the driver came out of this alright.

Powerboat Gets Airborne

At Lake Cumberland, an offshore powerboat flew into the air during a Poker Run back in 2014. For all we know, this was all part of some kind of plan to wow the judges in another way. It’s pretty original, no?

Big Wave Surfer

This must have been a very scary experience for this surfer. The big wave surfer nearly collided with a rogue wave runner. We have so many questions about this photo. Where was the driver of the wave runner? How did the big wave surfer get away?

A Farmer Plows His Fields

Just another day out in the field, right? Well, not exactly. Here we see a World War II pilot being ejected while a farmer plows his fields and watches the entire thing happening. We wonder what happened after this picture was taken.

F18 Hornet

This definitely falls in the ‘photos taken moments before disaster’ category, without a doubt! In this picture, an F18 Hornet pilot ejected himself before a crash during an airshow. It was so close to being fatal, we’re sure.

Crane Collapse

We don’t know when this was taken, but it was in Manhattan. A crane collapsed completely during a construction project. Just imagine the catastrophe that this caused! It must have been a nightmare.

Drag Race Car Gets Airborne

We think it’s safe to say that no kind of car or boat race is ever truly safe for anyone nearby. In this picture, a Pro Mod Drag racecar got air after it collided with a barrier towards the top end of the drag strip.

Rally Car

It makes sense that crashes would be a common occurrence during races, but that doesn’t make them any less scary. At the X Games in Los Angeles in 2009, a rally car went end over end after it landed wrong.

End Over End

Here we have another rally cross car going end over end at Irwindale Speedway in California. All we can really say at this point is that we hope the drivers didn’t get hurt during all these crashes.

FA-18 Hornet

It seems that pilots ejecting from their aircraft isn’t as much of a rarity as we believed… Here we have an FA-18 Hornet pilot ejecting themselves just before the plane crashes. It must be either a terrifying or thrilling experience to go through something like this. Maybe both.

Steel Ball Of Death

People are willing to do just about anything for the sake of entertainment, it seems. We guess this is the equivalent of the steel ball of death. Honestly, it doesn’t seem to be worth the effort, seeing as most of the crowd isn’t paying attention anyway.

1990s Formula 1

When people say they want to work in a field that lights a spark in themselves, we don’t think they mean it quite so literally. In the 1990 Formula 1, sparks literally flew for this driver and his car.

Car Drop

This picture raises more questions than it answers. It’s just so odd and out of place. Why was a car on a plane in the first place? Who thought this would be a good idea? Who’s driving it if the lights are on? What was the point of all this? We need answers!

What Do You Do?

If you found yourself in this situation, what would you do in this drivers’ place? Would you turn left, right, or break? Who knows what happened after this picture was taken? All we can do is hope no one was hurt.

Both Angles

Have you ever wondered how Google Street View was done? How they got all the footage? Well, here’s your answer. This guy got to get an insight into the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of Google’s process.

Wild Ride

Another car crash worth mentioning is this one. No. 7 went for one wild ride on its roof after it got some air and lost control on the track. From this picture, it seems that everyone just went on with their day normally, paying no attention to the upside-down car in front of them.

The Gravel Traps

As we’ve established by now, racing is no easy feat. Indy Lights drivers tangled up here, going airborne while in the gravel traps. From this perspective, it definitely doesn’t look like this ended well for the yellow car…

Formula 1 Race

Everyone knows that some of the most thrilling moments in a Formula 1 race is the very first turn of the first lap. It can be a good indicator of what’s to come in the rest of the race, setting up the audience’s expectations.

Porsche 911 Cup

No matter what car you drive, with racing, it’s all about the skills of the driver themselves. This Porsche 911 Cup driver got something wrong, hit a tire barrier, and hit major air as a result. Just look at those tires flying in the air!

2012 Monaco Grand Prix

If you thought that Formula 1 cars can’t jump, you thought wrong! Here we have Kamui Kobayashi going airborne during the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix. We wonder if he did this on purpose to show off, or if it just happened accidentally.

Rolls

During a competition, Ken block rolls his global RallyCross Ford, resulting in this dramatic outcome. It must be a serious experience to be inside a car while it’s rolling uncontrollably. Naturally, racecar drivers must know what they’re getting into, but it’s still a scary experience.

Nissan GT-R GT3 NISMO

Here we have another racecar going airborne during a race. This factory Nissan GT-R GT3 got air at Nurburgring Nordschleife in 2015. The car went end over end. It looks like it might have toppled right over onto its roof.

First Lap Mishap

Like we said earlier, the first turn and first lap are the most thrilling in the entire race. Here, Ralf Schumacher launched off Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello. Either that ended really well, or really badly.

Car Crash

In 2012, Le Mans’ Toyota LMP1 crashed straight into the lower class Ferrari 458 and got massive air. Just look at that tire rolling away on the side! We hope the car coming up behind them had enough time to stop before becoming part of the crash.