Aerophobia!

[Svet Angelov]

I'm flying again this coming Wednesday, and that ofcourse means that it's time for my fear of flying to kick in.

Once, I couldn't even go to sleep the night before. This occurred after already been on a plane a dozen times.

My father was an airforce mechanic and I grew up watching airshow- and passenger plane crash documentaries (he's a big fan..). This surely has something to do with it, even though now I try to logic and reason my way out of the heebyjeebies. I only recently learned about the German suicidal co-pilot that intentionally crashed a plane in 2015. That, of course, made things even worse for my upcoming flight. I always assumed that whatever happens, the crew would also like to hold on to their own lives and would do everything to land the plane safely.

Having to rationalize it, I guess the main thing is that with planes, if something DOES go wrong, chances are that it will crash at speeds upward of 800 km/h. And there's no way you can walk out of that.

Do you guys experience the same? I guess I need some assurances...

 

[Svet Angelov]

Ironically, I posted this in ''Fun topics''.

 

[Rednaxela]

Perhaps quit flying altogether?

 

[pavuol]

Speaking of plane crash documentaries fans, are there any air transport advovates among them? Considering all the (many times ridiculous) things that went wrong with all the crash cases.. Yes every case pushed the already high safety level even higher and bla bla..
I haven't flown once yet. Maybe I'll just postpone it till the day I am incurably ill or something..
Psychological help, if that applicable?

 

[Svet Angelov]

Perhaps quit flying altogether?

I've thought about it many times. This would of course mean that travel times would be orders of magnitude longer, and would take me through countries where one could argue that being on the ground is even more dangerous (let's say, going to Asia through the Middle East and the 'stans..). I could theoretically manage the time delay, my employer - not so much.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Planes are about the safest possible way to travel. Imagine if every car crash got the attention of news coverage. Stairs are very dangerous. I no this doesn't quell one's fear of flying. Maybe something to build upon.

Or if you must fly often in the future, take lessons to get a pilots license. It might make the fear go away.

 

[Svet Angelov]

Speaking of plane crash documentaries fans, are there any air transport advovates among them? Considering all the (many times ridiculous) things that went wrong with all the crash cases.. Yes every case pushed the already high safety level even higher and bla bla..
I haven't flown once yet. Maybe I'll just postpone it till the day I am incurably ill or something..
Psychological help, if that applicable?

That's a great idea and one I'm currently considering (psychological help). Aerophobia is this strange mix of rational and irrational fear that would take a whole lot of talking over to try and get to the bottom of.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Or prior to having to fly, go take a very short flight or two on your own. Fly to a nearby city. Take in a local amusement or see a concert or eat at a nice restaurant. Then fly back home. Take a friend with you.

If your fear is really substantial, you may need some counseling.

 

[Svet Angelov]

Planes are about the safest possible way to travel. Imagine if every car crash got the attention of news coverage. Stairs are very dangerous. I no this doesn't quell one's fear of flying. Maybe something to build upon.

Or if you must fly often in the future, take lessons to get a pilots license. It might make the fear go away.

The fact that it is by far the safest way to travel is maybe the only thing that helps me get on the plane in the first place. I try to fight over the irrationality of it with facts and statistics. Still doesn't do zilch to help the inner feeling of 'what if' ...

 

[HarmonicTHD]

I'm flying again this coming Wednesday, and that ofcourse means that it's time for my fear of flying to kick in.

Once, I couldn't even go to sleep the night before. This occurred after already been on a plane a dozen times.

My father was an airforce mechanic and I grew up watching airshow- and passenger plane crash documentaries (he's a big fan..). This surely has something to do with it, even though now I try to logic and reason my way out of the heebyjeebies. I only recently learned about the German suicidal co-pilot that intentionally crashed a plane in 2015. That, of course, made things even worse for my upcoming flight. I always assumed that whatever happens, the crew would also like to hold on to their own lives and would do everything to land the plane safely.

Having to rationalize it, I guess the main thing is that with planes, if something DOES go wrong, chances are that it will crash at speeds upward of 800 km/h. And there's no way you can walk out of that.

Do you guys experience the same? I guess I need some assurances...

No. Fortunately. I am flying all my life even privately. Not a single accident or even close to one. As posted above, commercial aviation is the safest means of transportation.

Try not to let your fears get in your head and if they do, purposely focus of something different and take slow deep breaths.

All the best.

 

[BDWoody]

Do you guys experience the same? I guess I need some assurances...

Fear can definitely take the fun out of life!

You surely know the statistics about how safe it is overall, but it's a long way down from 6 miles up, and not everyone can convince his brain to just relax.

I am a private pilot, and knowing first hand how inherently stable an airplane in flight is, and how the vast majority of incidents/accidents are the result of an unlikely chain of poor decisions has put me more at ease when in the air.

How long will the flight be?

 

[Svet Angelov]

Fear can definitely take the fun out of life!

You surely know the statistics about how safe it is overall, but it's a long way down from 6 miles up, and not everyone can convince their brain to just relax.

I am a private pilot, and knowing first hand how inherently stable an airplane in flight is, and how the vast majority of incidents/accidents are the result of an unlikely chain of poor decisions, it has put me more at ease when in the air.

How long will the flight be?

It would be so much better if I could shut off my brain, like a lot of people do.. I envy them for that. I am fascinated by the technology itself and know a bit about it just by talking to my dad over the years. Human error is the #1 cause, afaik.

This upcoming flight is the shortest I ever take, from Bulgaria to the Netherlands, and is roughly 2h40min. long. I think the distance doesn't bother me, rather the height. I wish they could just fly 1km up. But that wouldn't be very fuel efficient now, would it..

 

[Triliza]

It seems healthy to me to be a bit afraid when up in the air and with no means to do something if the needs arise. So it comes down to managing it, or more exactly not to think about it. Headphones (music or better some mentally demanding audiobook), a movie on a tablet, a book, whatever works for you to keep your thoughts in a pleasant place. As other have said, statistically flying is safer that other means of transportation.

 

[Svet Angelov]

It seems healthy to me to be a bit afraid when up in the air and with no means to do something if the needs arise. So it comes down to managing it, or more exactly not to think about it. Headphones (music or better some mentally demanding audiobook), a movie on a tablet, a book, whatever works for you to keep your thoughts in a pleasant place. As other have said, statistically flying is safer that other means of transportation.

I always try to keep my mind occupied while in the air. Either pulling out the laptop to do work, or reading a book. In both cases the headphones are always on my head. If it weren't for these, I reckon it would be much harder to not think about the unthinkable.

 

[BDWoody]

I wish they could just fly 1km up. But that wouldn't be very fuel efficient now, would it..

That would also be much less safe, oddly enough. The higher you are, the more time you have to react. Falling 10km isn't going to kill you more dead than a fall from 1km after all.

Takeoffs and landings are where the excitement happens, so if you can de-pucker your sphincter between those events, you might be able to enjoy the view.

Consider also, on a highway or road you are counting on every other driver to play their part, with 3-6 lanes of people loaded cars whizzing by each other a few feet apart. That gives me the heebies more than counting on one pilot (and a copilot, as backup for safety) and one air traffic controller at a time performing a very well coordinated dance with extensive safety margins built in from the time the plane starts taxiing on the ground until it stops at the gate at the destination.

Obviously, there are incidents where pilots don't follow instructions, etc, but we're getting well into the tail of the curve.

 

[Svet Angelov]

That would also be much less safe, oddly enough. The higher you are, the more time you have to react. Falling 10km isn't going to kill you more dead than a fall from 1km after all.

Takeoffs and landings are where the excitement happens, so if you can de-pucker your sphincter between those events, you might be able to enjoy the view.

Consider also, on a highway or road you are counting on every other driver to play their part, with 3-6 lanes of people loaded cars whizzing by each other a few feet apart. That gives me the heebies more than counting on one pilot (and a copilot, as backup for safety) and one air traffic controller at a time performing a very well coordinated dance with extensive safety margins built in from the time the plane starts taxiing on the ground until it stops at the gate at the destination.

Obviously, there are incidents where pilots don't follow instructions, etc, but we're getting well into the tail of the curve.

Takeoff is the worst of it all for me. When it comes to landings, I usually start to get calmer at what I presume is 1-2km's high (maybe 5 mins before landing) - just about when I can start to see the city below. Turbulence is also a fright, and some cases of it have been much scarier than others. Sometimes there's almost no turbulence at all, or atleast I can't feel it as much.

Thank you, Woody, for your answers. Even if by just a small bit, they definitely helped (coming from an actual pilot,no less!)

And thanks to everyone else for also chiming in. I couldn't think of a better place to post this, as ASR is where I spend a good chunk of my time and feel in good hands, whether it's about audio or something else entirely.

 

[SSS]

Perhaps quit flying altogether?

Yes, that is what I did. During business times flying was normal to me. But after crahses of Boeing jets due to not perfect software programming or pilots training and now teared off side wall I even more do not entering an airplane anymore. Of course the risc to be in an accident is very low. But when it may happen then death is for sure.

 

[gene_stl]

How about 0.5 mg of alprazolam (Xanax) 15 minutes before departure and 0.25 mg every four or five hours if its an all day flight. I have a niece who is a physician and she hates flying even though her dad and uncle were both private pilots. She used to do that but doesn't need to any more. (She went to medical school in a foreign country that was a very long flight away)
It can make you a little sleepy but is very effective at taking the edge of anxiety. As mentioned above a certain minimal amount of fear/anxiety is not irrational. The termites could stop holding hands. I used to be a business traveler and in spite of getting my pilot license on my 17th birthday, and I like flying a lot, when there is turbulence, and the airframe starts creaking, I get nervous.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Takeoff is the worst of it all for me. When it comes to landings, I usually start to get calmer at what I presume is 1-2km's high (maybe 5 mins before landing) - just about when I can start to see the city below. Turbulence is also a fright, and some cases of it have been much scarier than others. Sometimes there's almost no turbulence at all, or atleast I can't feel it as much.

Thank you, Woody, for your answers. Even if by just a small bit, they definitely helped (coming from an actual pilot,no less!)

And thanks to everyone else for also chiming in. I couldn't think of a better place to post this, as ASR is where I spend a good chunk of my time and feel in good hands, whether it's about audio or something else entirely.

Dont think about what could happen. This is the worst strategy against fear. Besides you thinking about it will not affect the outcome anyway. Train to think of something else. Count, sing or think of a nice event or anything, when the fear starts. Just don’t let the thought creep in. Do it over if it comes back again.

I do mountaineering, when I need to cross a narrow icy ridge, I use these techniques to stay calm. In my case I focus very closely on my feet and not even remotely let in the thought of what could happen. It’s too late at this point anyhow.

 

[Svet Angelov]

Dont think about what could happen. This is the worst strategy against fear. Besides you thinking about it will not affect the outcome anyway. Train to think of something else. Count, sing or think of a nice event or anything, when the fear starts. Just don’t let the thought creep in. Do it over if it comes back again.

I do mountaineering, when I need to cross a narrow icy ridge, I use these techniques to stay calm. In my case I focus very closely on my feet and not even remotely let in the thought of what could happen. It’s too late at this point anyhow.

I know you're right. I've never been able to train myself to not think about it, only to try and minimise the number of times it crosses my mind mid-flight. I'll try to remember to sing me some Boz Scaggs next time. Thanks!