This sometimes happens on aircraft carrier night ops. Because of limited space on the carrier deck, aircraft are parked with their tails hanging over the side of the deck. Because it is dark, visibility is limited to objects near the aircraft. Many a pilot thought his plane was rolling backwards over the side of the carrier only to go to Davy Jone's locker. So, the pilot stomps on the brakes to stop his seemingly backwards moving plane. Imagine the horror when it seems the plane is still moving backwards to a sudden potential night swim or worse. Panicked, the pilot hits the lever to retract his gear because he assumes the brakes have failed and, at least, if the plane plops solidly on the deck it won't roll away over the side. Later, he realizes his mistake when he determines that it was only the adjacent plane's forward movement relative to his stationary plane, creating the illusion he was going backward about to go over the side. The damage is usually slight to the aircraft but the most serious damage is to the pilot's ego. lol
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