A fear of flying

[Kaftan Barlast]

One thing you can find comfort in, is the fact that flying is only the worlds second most dangerous means of transportation. Motorcycles are the undisputed kings of accidents.

 

 

 

..the thing about it being the safest is a statistical folly encouraged by the airline companies. They calculate by kilometer travelled, not journey to journey as insurance companies and goverment agencies do.

[Rosbjerg]

..the thing about it being the safest is a statistical folly encouraged by the airline companies. They calculate by kilometer travelled, not journey to journey as insurance companies and goverment agencies do.

 

Still, hundred of thousands die every year in car accidents - while only maybe a thousand die, on average pr year, flying.

[Kaftan Barlast]

That's only because there are more cars than aeroplanes. If you calculate by journey, the risk of something going wrong in 100 flights is much higher than in 100 car rides.

[I want teh kotor 3]

Rationalise the situation in your head and you will conquer it.

 

Yup. That's how I did it, though it didn't entirely work. It helped me get through my first couple, and then simple experience did the rest.

[Gorth]

One thing you can find comfort in, is the fact that flying is only the worlds second most dangerous means of transportation. Motorcycles are the undisputed kings of accidents.

Thanks, just what I needed to know. What time I don't spend on my motorcycle is spent in the air

 

I don't think sharing the horror stories I've gathered during my last 38 years (started out at the age of 6, flying with an old propeller plane to Copenhagen) as an airline passenger is going to help MC

[GreasyDogMeat]

..the thing about it being the safest is a statistical folly encouraged by the airline companies. They calculate by kilometer travelled, not journey to journey as insurance companies and goverment agencies do.

 

Still, hundred of thousands die every year in car accidents - while only maybe a thousand die, on average pr year, flying.

Car crashes are generally over quickly and have a much higher percentage of survivability. In a plane crash you will be very lucky if you survive and you have the potential for a long period of AAAAAAAGH before the splat.

[Orogun01]

..the thing about it being the safest is a statistical folly encouraged by the airline companies. They calculate by kilometer travelled, not journey to journey as insurance companies and goverment agencies do.

 

Still, hundred of thousands die every year in car accidents - while only maybe a thousand die, on average pr year, flying.

Car crashes are generally over quickly and have a much higher percentage of survivability. In a plane crash you will be very lucky if you survive and you have the potential for a long period of AAAAAAAGH before the splat.

That's the moment when I put my hands up and scream WooOOO

[Nepenthe]

The thing about planes, if it does go wrong there is nothing you can do to rectify the situation. If it's just a tall drop you can take a minute and try to come to terms with the vertigo and fear.

Well, unless it's a couple of talibans with knifes. Then you hope you've taken a seat by the aisle and take the initiative to kick their asses.

 

Of course, highly doubtful anyone with half a brain is going to try a plane hijacking these days. Their success was wholly dependent on the other people aboard not fighting back, a highly unlikely scenario post 9/11.

 

p.s. I'm an aviation lawyer, so I could probably tell stuff that would make most of you unable to get on a plane without a full narcosis.

Edited December 10, 2010 by Nepenthe

[Gfted1]

...flying with an old propeller plane to Copenhagen...

 

 

Ive twice taken a Cessna type propeller plane, once from Boston to Bangor "International" and once from Norfolk to Jacksonville, and both times were a study of sheer butt-clenching fear. Seemingly every little gust of wind can dramatically add to the turbulence.

[mkreku]

Bah. You should fly from Pajala to Lule

[Walsingham]

I quite prefer small planes. Something about the immediacy of the aerodynamics.

[Raithe]

To add to the mood.. a series of flying and pilot related quotes :

 

"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing." - At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Japan

 

 

"You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3." - Paul F. Crickmore (test pilot)

 

 

"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."

 

 

"Blue water Navy truism: There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky." - From an old carrier sailor

 

 

"If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter -- and therefore, unsafe."

 

 

"When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash."

 

 

"Without ammunition, the USAF would be just another expensive flying club."

 

 

"What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots? If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; If ATC screws up, .... The pilot dies."

 

 

The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in aviation are: "Why is it doing that?", "Where are we?" And "Oh S...!"

 

"Progress in airline flying: now a flight attendant can get a pilot pregnant."

 

 

"Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight."

 

 

"A smooth landing is mostly luck; two in a row is all luck; three in a row is prevarication."

 

 

"I remember when sex was safe and flying was dangerous."

 

 

"Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up there!"

 

 

"Flashlights are tubular metal containers kept in a flight bag for the purpose of storing dead batteries."

 

 

"Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it."

 

 

"The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you." - Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot)

 

 

"A pilot who doesn't have any fear probably isn't flying his plane to its maximum." - Jon McBride, astronaut

 

 

"If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible." - Bob Hoover (renowned aerobatic and test pilot).

 

 

"Never fly in the same ****pit with someone braver than you."

 

 

"There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime." - Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970

 

 

"If something hasn't broken on your helicopter, it's about to."

 

 

Basic Flying Rules: "Try to stay in the middle of the air. Do not go near the edges of it. The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of ground, buildings, sea, trees and outer space. It is much more difficult to fly there."

 

 

"You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal."

 

 

As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives, the rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks "What happened?". The pilot's reply: "I don't know, I just got here myself!" - Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)