I'm a seasoned traveller and the thought of jumping on a plane gave me sheer joy once upon a time. However in the last few years even short haul flights I find a sense of unease come over me which i've never experienced before. Anyone else developed a fear of flying as of late?
Developed a Mild Fear of Flying
bemybubble on 13/02/2017 - 11:50
Poll Options
- 12I'm fearful of flying only of late
- 77I'm not scared of nada
- 19I've always been scared of flying
Comments
Why?
I'm guessing this, which I found on Wikipedia:
"The Airbus A320 family has been involved in 93 aviation occurrences, including 34 hull loss accidents with a total of 1,345 fatalities as of October 2015.[1][2][3][4][5] As of 27 August 2015, the A320 had been involved in 12 fatal accidents since 1988.[6]"
Is this really significant with the millions of flights that have been taken safely?
Yeah. Many horror stories. Turbulence sucks now
Probably would be if you lost someone you care for.
it's no DC-10 - now, that thing was scary
To be fair, it wasn't that bad. it's just that it had a long service life and aviation has gotten much safer since then which makes it look like a deathtrap in comparison.
look at this way - if your plane crashes then you'll be the first one at the crash site.
Imagine the Likes you could get…
It's a once in a lifetime experience
It's my life dream to be a subject on Air Crash Investigations / Mayday, victim or survivor I don't mind but I'm sure as hell not going to come on as an expert.
What a slogan for a news network. "Always there first"
I use to be terrified too but now its one of the most exciting aspects of travel for me. I love the buzz and energy of airports
I love the buzz and energy of airports
Things are happening. people are going places to do stuff or coming back from doing stuff.
What's the story behind each passenger and the trip they are about to embark upon?
The comings and goings.
Never the same crap each day (or even each hour).
Mayday: Air Crash Investigation is one of my favourite shows, i have this obsession with it for some reason. Anywho, you would think it would make you more fearful but actually, tbh, watching the show you see how safe and secure and how many failsafes are built in and how far we've come with air travel and it actually, strangely, gives a sense of security.
I agree!
It also is a way of showing how to survive plane crashes or incidents.
I love that episode where the guy survived because he took all the blankets and covered himself so it cushioned him from the impact and shielded him from the fire
there was one where some guy and his wife were being annoyed by some noisy chatting russian girl band so they moved to the back of the plane, it crashed and those girls died but he and his wife lived purely because they moved.. that guy said in the show "i suppose i should thank them for being annoying", hehe
@The Land of Smeg: oh haha, yeah ive seen them all, they just released one recently of the germanwings guy who crashed the plane on purpose, that's the most recent one - im eagerly awaiting season 17 now ! Love it! haha
at least you don't have plane claustrophobia
The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a passenger is supposed to function.
I often use this as well to counter my fear of death. Apparently, there is a whole Buddhist literature devoted to it.
Think rationally and don't let your emotions take hold of you. You should feel abundantly more fear the moment your plane lands and you hop into a car. Look into meditation if it's really getting to the point of not wanting to fly at all
More likely to get killed in a road traffic accident than flying in a commercial aircraft.
Ture. But do you think it's the element of being in control that helps overcome that fear?
Probably, but it shouldn't. Pilots train and gain experience for many years, sometimes decades, before they're employed to fly passengers in a commercial aircraft. It's their job to transport passengers safely. Plus don't get me started on the level of redundancy in modern aircraft - in some cases if a certain component fails then there's three or more independent systems to take its place.
I'm curious - what are you specifically afraid of?
"I'm curious - what are you specifically afraid of?"
Crashing?
@bemybubble:
So you're sitting there in cruise and you're worried it's going to somehow crash? Are you worried it's going to miss the runway or something? You mentioned short haul flying, is there an accident in Australian history that comes to mind when you go flying (there's not very many to quote)?If you mentioned terrorism then I would understand because that is in my opinion the biggest threat to aviation at present and the one in which the industry has the least control over, but the chances of that are still extremely marginal compared to the tens of millions of safe flights that are had each year.
I think that's definitely part of it, but really it is only the illusion of control. Pilots have more control over their aircraft than most drivers have over their cars, plenty of people on the roads haven't done defensive driving courses and wouldn't be able to correct a skid without overcorrecting and running off the road. Not to mention all the air traffic controls monitoring every planes flightpath, but there's nobody watching the drunk driver or the guy texting behind the wheel who could wipe you out at any moment. Life is full of risks, and as far as risks go commercial flights are a pretty reasonable one.
Do you really want to be in control of the aircraft? Or do you prefer someone with many years of experience and it's their job to fly it safely?
I never had a fear of flying until I flew some short haul flights in Vietnam. Holy crap I thought I was going to die on multiple occasions. One of them the pilot just banked to the right super rapidly and there was a gasp that went through the whole plane. But yeah nah not scared of flying in Australia.
I used to fly overseas 5-6 times a year (almost every 2 months) and was ok with the whole flying experience.
Changed jobs/positions and stopped flying for 3 years. Now I fly once a year and either I'm getting older or the whole flying experience is becoming hard to endure.
I miss the joy of airports and airplanes:(
Not frightened of flying, but I do find it tedious. We do tend to fly to places like Europe or America and we are in the "cheap seats" so it is long hours in close quarters and no way of controlling the situation. You are fed when everyone else is, the dishes are left too long on the trays, you queue for the toilets and it is hard to get comforatble and sleep. If you don't already have a good set of blockout or noise cancelling earphones I would get some. It gets rid of the plane noise, which for some reason, I find claustrophobic and allows you to listen to some soothing music.
Yes statistically more people die in car crashes but how many more people drive compared to flying? Serious question? Plus you have to account for the total distance traveled by all cars compared to all planes?
I love air crash investigation also. Now i know do not get on any Douglas aircraft lol At this rate you may also want to avoid Malaysian airlines. Lots of minor accident or incidents go unmentioned people are hurt every day flying but it just goes in the log. I think you are much more likely to have a minor injury in an aircraft.@aussieprepper
Take a look at this link which breaks it down to risk per mile.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_safety_in_the_U…
Obviously it's US centric data but you can extrapolate to another first world country with stringent safety restrictions like Australia.
Basically, traveling the same milage in air vs. driving means you are 937% more likely to die in a car crash. They break the risk down in some other ways to account for the number of people in each vehicle and the time spent travelling(i.e air travel is obviously faster) but they don't change the results a huge amount, it's just safer to travel via air no matter what way you want to represent the statistics.
Okay thanks mate i will give it a read. I was reading the car accident rate in the USA its way higher then i thought it would be.
I think it may be related to age. I too loved flying when younger, but I still enjoy the experience but there's some sense of dread before boarding every flight. That feeling on take off when you realise you're sitting on 100,000 litres of aviation fuel, and what if the plane can't take off properly.
Part of the fear some people develop is probably due to media coverage. As children we notice air crashes in the media but we don't read about it in detail.
Here's something to think about: you're much more likely to die in a car crash on the way to the airport, than on the plane itself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_i…
Last year Australia clocked up 5.08 deaths per 100k people, giving a 1 in 19685 chance that you would be killed in a car crash, just in one year. The stats on planes vary, but the number of crashes is one out of 1.2 MILLION flights, and most don't result in most or even some people dying. Chance of death is 1 in 11 million.
Fun fact: people play the Saturday lottery where the chance of winning division 1 is 1 in 8 million, yet many people are convinced they'll win one day. Yep, people will fear a 1 in 1.2 million event while expecting a 1 in 8 million outcome. We're a weird species.
Kind of funny and scary how fragile and also so strong life is.. one minute you could be here the next minute six feet underground
It's natural to become more scared of ones current circumstances as one gets older.. I too am now scared of the idea of flying knowing all the bad things regarding flying happening all around me. But when it comes tube to fly my or the excitement still trumps the overwhelming fear I get from home.. I imagine sd I get older I will either stabilise this feeling or it will just get worse .. The mind is or can be rather a funny or fickle thing
Do people get anxious when you see too many people standing in the rear of the plane? It's as if the plane might loose its balance or snap at the rear?
Is it ok if they sit down?
Yeah, I mean they try balance seating on the plane. If lots of people stand up and all walk towards the back is when I get nervous.
I am only scared of landings now and i am an engineer. I guess because i know what can go wrong.
Yes most of wear and tear is done at take of and landings. Landing a little rough once can cause micro stress fractures. Every time the cabin is pressurised it can get worse.
They Xray all the critical parts?
Watch more 'Air Crash Investigators' and as you are going down you will look at it more from a scientific point of view!
Ummm ……….(drums fingers on chin)I have taught myself to surrender….in the plane I accept all…it's the mind that wants to control all and creates inner dialogues , stress and fear. When I discovered how to surrender, my flights have not turned into a joyful experience but they are stress free for me now.
I developed a fear after a bad episode with turbulence. We were flying through a storm, the plane was experiencing sudden drops, the crew was seated and people were screaming, and the pilot came on to say "in 5 mins it'll be bad"… When the plane finally landed people cheered and clapped.
Although at no time did I actually think that we might crash, it felt like I was unwillingly strapped in to a roller-coaster ride that I have no idea of the severity and length. And I don't enjoy roller-coasters.
So my fear of flying is really a fear of turbulence — I'm not afraid that the plane might crash (which I'm aware is exceedingly unlikely) but I hate to be on a roller-coaster ride of unknown severity and length, and one which might start at any time without warning.
Not afraid at all. But I've spent a long time in the industry, so I know what happens behind the scenes. It's not an industry that yahoos survive in.
Wife is absolutely terrified of flying. She lost some friends when an Antonov crashed in her home city. After that she was involved in an emergency landing when the aircrafts front landing gear wouldn't go down.
I am from a small country. When I first flew more than 10 years ago, It was an expensive thing that only upper middle class could afford. I am from an average middle class family and saved for a year when I started working to have a vacation in the US (9 days Vegas). It was great and I felt like am rich!
Nowadays, I hate airports. Yes security is worse (bombings in EU), + it is full of bogans and crying children. People leave their garbage all over the place. The plane after a 6 hour flight is like a landfill. People arrive at the airport drunk and already stinking. Que jumpers at boarding, immigration. etc.
I rather pay my parents to come and visit me instead of me going on a 18h flight. Even the Bali 3.5h was a nightmare with a child crying non-stop behind me (poor kid likely had some mental disorder).
I don't mind flying. You get to catch up with all the latest movies and you get a quick death if it crashes.
What more could you ask for OP? Sheesh.
Probably because of the crashed air asia flights and Malaysian airline missing flight.
my guess is because of social media, its too easy to report and interpret all form of news now. in the 80's, 90's etc you would hear of the odd plane crash, however now with 24/7 news and air crash investigation type shows, it has made you paranoid of flying.
AVHerald.com is a handy site for checking how many incidents of various types are reported in civilian aviation every day. The site may reassure you, or scare you :-)
It's also a great web site to get unbiased, factual, and non sensationalized information about plane crashes. Just ignore the comments section. It's a regular collection of experts, people with no clue, and trolls.
OP, next time you are in a plane taking off, when the plane is still planing at low altitude, look out the window, imagine the engines cutting out right there and feel the seat sink beneath your ass; the gooch goes kind of tight… :)
PS: Don't worry about it man; your time and place of death is a matter decreed that no amount of fear shall hasten or delay.
Living in London at the moment, my wife and I travel roughly every 2 weeks at the moment. I usually am not a fan of take-offs because I know that's when the plane is stressed the most. Otherwise I'm usually good to go.
Out of curiosity, just how much turbulence can a plane handle? I haven't been in a plane through a storm in a while and not looking forward to it happening when it does.
this is why they serve grog on planes
If you can, call up a flight school and go for an introductory flight. It really helps to know what all the movement on the plane actually is.
i am scared of the airbus a320!