I also had late onset fear of flying. Was generally fine when at 30,000 ft but really didn't enjoy takeoff, climb, descent or landing. Looking up the statistics and reading articles genuinely made me feel better, but there is still a slight sense of nervousness there.
I did have a bad experience on a plane, got caught in a typhoon 8 coming back to Hong Kong. Plane felt like it was dropping 20 feet, then recovering ,then repeating. Pilot talking on the intercom with dread in his voice about attempting to land with zero visibility, high winds. People screaming, vomiting. It was a reet good laugh.
I don't know where my fear comes from. Used to fly all the time, then had a period of about 3 or 4 years when I didn't and have got gradually worse over the last 10 years or so.
I did watch a air crash investigation documntary about a passenger plane that lost the use of it's tail rudder(?) and was in a mountainous area, in Asia somewhere, so they basically had to wait to run out of fuel before going down in the mountains. I think this was after I stopped flying though.
Coincidentally watch these 2 documentaries over the last few weeks. The first is definitely worth a watch, the blokes a legend -
Never been in a plane crash - but did have a very late aborted landing and fly around at Gatwick a few years ago (coming back from 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough incidentally).
It was pretty scary. Pilot just calmly announced that it was due to another plane being on the runway.....so god knows how that happened?!?
Also has a very hard landing in high winds in NY. Was with a mate.....and although he denies it, we were definitely holding hands at some stage 😄
Had a couple of aborted landings. 1 just a month ago in high winds. Doesn't help when the woman behind screams oh my god just to get everyone in a cheery mood. Then the sound of everyone chucking their guts up was lovely.
The professional pilot profession is one I really admire. The rest of us could learn a lot from them, except that most of us probably don't have the personal make- up to do the job anyway. When something does happen, I go to their forum and read what they are saying. I find it very reassuring, although it often gets techie. There are several book out there by pilots worth reading, of which the standout for me is Skyfaring by Mark Vanhoenacker an unexpected thing of beauty that doesn't just tell you what's going on, but why people can grow to love flying. And I regard it at best as a necessary pain in the arse, experience wise.
Of course we could start a thread entitled "people you know whose lives have been destroyed or messed up by car accidents" and I could write half a page on that, but somehow we never see them because we are all great drivers, aren't we?
Statistically, if you took a flight everyday it would be 250,000 years before you were involved in an incident and then there's only a 1 in 8 chance of dying. Compared to every other form of transport that is truly sensational.
You're 3.5x as likely to die in a train as in a plane, over 100x more likely to die in your car, and that's assuming you travel the same distance. I usually get away once or twice a year, so probably average around between 2k and 10k miles a year by plane. I do 20k+ miles in my car, so I'm 200 to 1000 times more likely to die in a car compared to a plane.
Nevertheless they still crash. 1 in 8 is pretty short odds on living or not when in shunt. I lost 2 family members a few years back, everyone on board also dead.
On the upside I guess statistically it would be astronomical odds of anyone else I know to meet the same end. Anyone want to travel with me
I think the fear is of being so high up and not necessarily
of crashing, which would maybe explain why the same people don't fear getting
into and travelling in a car
I think the fear is of being so high up and not necessarily
of crashing, which would maybe explain why the same people don't fear getting
into and travelling in a car
It's also said that a lot of people with fear of flying are unsettled by the loss of 'control". When driving you are in complete control. Does not quite explain why less people worry about surrendering control in a train or bus. That could be because of your suggestion, you surrender control and in a very "odd " environment.
I've never experienced a crash but had two aborted take-offs in quite close succession about 10 years ago. The one at Manila Airport was quite scary as we seemed to be a long way up the runway on take-off when the pilot hit the brakes and slewed around. The one at Kuala Lumpur was similar but I had no idea how far we had gone up the runway before he shoved on the brakes.
I actually found a pilot's three attempts to land at Gatwick more frightening. Partly, because there were three or four off-duty BA cabin staff on the flight that were screaming. On the third attempt, we landed and the pilot, in that typical pilot voice, said "Well, I think we will be the last flight coming into Gatwick for a while. I can tell you that the Air France flight that was also trying to land has turned round and gone back to France". It really did feel like a chant of "England 1 France 0" was needed.
The professional pilot profession is one I really admire. The rest of us could learn a lot from them, except that most of us probably don't have the personal make- up to do the job anyway.
Or probably the financial backing...It can be VERY expensive to become a pilot, especially when training with the big airlines. They do subsidise (or can if needed) training that then gets clawed back through salary but not all. Was something I started doing, but was too expensive to go down the "fast track" route. Moved into air traffic control instead, breezed through the tests to then start training but was offered a job in I.T elsewhere which I took up instead.
Or have I just repeated your point and "personal make- up" means £££? Ha
I think the fear is of being so high up and not necessarily
of crashing, which would maybe explain why the same people don't fear getting
into and travelling in a car
It's also said that a lot of people with fear of flying are unsettled by the loss of 'control". When driving you are in complete control. Does not quite explain why less people worry about surrendering control in a train or bus. That could be because of your suggestion, you surrender control and in a very "odd " environment.
I don't know where my fear comes from. Used to fly all the time, then had a period of about 3 or 4 years when I didn't and have got gradually worse over the last 10 years or so.
I did watch a air crash investigation documntary about a passenger plane that lost the use of it's tail rudder(?) and was in a mountainous area, in Asia somewhere, so they basically had to wait to run out of fuel before going down in the mountains. I think this was after I stopped flying though.
Coincidentally watch these 2 documentaries over the last few weeks. The first is definitely worth a watch, the blokes a legend -
Like others, I am a bad flyer. I feel vulnerable that high up in a small tin can. I know it's completely irrational but it is that feeling of being out of control that I think causes it.
It's a shame as I actually love planes as engineering marvels.
Like others, I am a bad flyer. I feel vulnerable that high up in a small tin can. I know it's completely irrational but it is that feeling of being out of control that I think causes it.
It's a shame as I actually love planes as engineering marvels.
I wouldn't say that I am scared of flying, just never fully relax on a flight. I went through a period in my late 20s where had I not "had a word with myself" it could have become a phobia.
Have had a couple of dodgy landings and a flight turn back to the airport 15mins in due to a technical fault.
I remember shaming myself completely on a flight back from Vegas some years ago. The pilot had to divert over the American Midwest due to thunder storms. The Midwest is known for very bad turbulence (apparently). It was the first time I have been on a flight when flight crew were instructed to suspend duties and remain in their seats.
I was dozing and half watching a film. An alarm/siren went off on the film and in my half asleep state I thought it was some sort emergency on the plane! I sprung out of my seat and awake thinking "we were going down" only to be surrounded by a load of people with face masks on fast asleep and bemused looks from those who were awake!
The professional pilot profession is one I really admire. The rest of us could learn a lot from them, except that most of us probably don't have the personal make- up to do the job anyway.
Or probably the financial backing...It can be VERY expensive to become a pilot, especially when training with the big airlines. They do subsidise (or can if needed) training that then gets clawed back through salary but not all. Was something I started doing, but was too expensive to go down the "fast track" route. Moved into air traffic control instead, breezed through the tests to then start training but was offered a job in I.T elsewhere which I took up instead.
Or have I just repeated your point and "personal make- up" means £££? Ha
Not all the pilots on that forum are with big airlines. That became very clear when they were discussing the Sala tragedy. They were incandescent about many aspects of that affair, including regulatory control and the greed of those who provide such flights. Beside the point but many of them wanted Willie McKay strung up, which made me like them even more.
I cannot think of anything more unnatural than humans flying and that includes eating your own shit, I think that primal fear is very apparent for some. For many years I was like BA Baracus and would only fly when a sedative had been applied to my milk.
About ten years ago i was undone by wanderlust. Whilst there is plenty of beautiful things to see by train, foot, car and boat. The fear of not flying was more detrimental to me.
I don't know where my fear comes from. Used to fly all the time, then had a period of about 3 or 4 years when I didn't and have got gradually worse over the last 10 years or so.
I did watch a air crash investigation documntary about a passenger plane that lost the use of it's tail rudder(?) and was in a mountainous area, in Asia somewhere, so they basically had to wait to run out of fuel before going down in the mountains. I think this was after I stopped flying though.
Coincidentally watch these 2 documentaries over the last few weeks. The first is definitely worth a watch, the blokes a legend -
I'm a confessed AVgeek, love planes, Military stuff not the shed with wings stuff you find in West London - I'm not a spotter (before anyone says it) as I don't collect registrations - but will stand for hours at the end of a runway in the hope of photographing something different but, I still get anxious when flying. It's natural I guess
I also had late onset fear of flying. Was generally fine when at 30,000 ft but really didn't enjoy takeoff, climb, descent or landing. Looking up the statistics and reading articles genuinely made me feel better, but there is still a slight sense of nervousness there.
I did have a bad experience on a plane, got caught in a typhoon 8 coming back to Hong Kong. Plane felt like it was dropping 20 feet, then recovering ,then repeating. Pilot talking on the intercom with dread in his voice about attempting to land with zero visibility, high winds. People screaming, vomiting. It was a reet good laugh.
I had a similar experience taking off from Kuala Lumpa, I was pretty OK at first but when the guy next to met very nearly ripped the arm off the chair and his fingernails and knuckles were white, eyes scrunched shut, tears streaming down his cheeks. That made me sit up. The chaos began during take off i thought we had smacked back into the runway before springing up into the most violent storm imaginable. I wouldnt have a clue how much we were going up or down but it felt like my stomach was going from throat to dropping out of my arse
The pilot earned his money no doubt about that but seeing a stewardess screaming and crouching into the brace position also shit me right up. One of her friends told me after this mayhem was over that it was the most frightened she had ever been on a flight.
If I'm honest I find the concept of passenger flight insane, tonnes of tin and humanity being propelled through the air on something that would sink on water blows my mind. In a good way.
I find the whole bullshit with airports a million times more stressful than the flight itself but I enjoy nothing about air travel from the rumbling anxiety I will be late to the airport, break down, oversleep, forget my passport/wallet or have accidentally packed semtex or that someone else packed semtex. Then the pox with security and people not having a concept of personal space in the security bit to the bellowed instructions that seem to go over the head of an alarming number of people, unpacking everything, wondering if my kindle and mobile phone will set off a security alert or of I will be one of those people being patronised whilst looking sadly at a mess of chargers and electronic devices wondering why I bothered to pack things neatly in the hand luggage bag.
Then nervously buying some aftershave before trying to get something to eat and drink and to wonder why the boarding gate isn't on the electronic board or even the flight even though I'M HERE 3 HOURS BEFORE THE SILVER BIRD TAKES OFF LIKE I WAS TOLD. To trying to find somewhere to sit away from noisy space invading pricks who can't just hold a conversation at normal volume, to having about 6 pisses and trying to squeeze a dump out so I won't force the plane to land in France for doing a bad one on the plane and breaking the golden rule of not putting anything solid in a train or plane toilet. Or because of the time I nearly pissed myself on a Ryanair flight after take off which makes me only think of that while the seat belt sign is on and martialled with lethal force by the crew. Before this there is the mental scrum and ignoring of what seats and rows are being called to board where everyone rushes the gate as if the plane will leave without them if they don't try and pack on to a plane with booked seats.
Then a few hours of wondering who it is doing the rotten egg farts and why they chose to eat what smells like actual human poo within 48 hours of going on a plane, trying to read a book, wondering why people get the hump with others reclining seats, then getting the hump with the arsehole in front reclining their seat, getting irrationally angry with anyone who brings a child or worse a baby on a plane. Then the moronic display starts all over again when the plane lands and seemingly every dickhead leaps up to yank their bag out of the overhead locker and stand with their rank sweaty, swampy, dank arses right at the level of my face leaving me to stew on how I would kill, dismember and dispose of their stupid, ignorant body on a holiday resort.
I am definitely more anxious and tightly wound about the dicking about at airports than I am the taking off and landing
I went through security no problems. Waiting for my case to come through I was asked "did you pack your case yourself?" 'Yes' "There is a long electrical device in your case, what is it?" 'I have no idea' "How can you have no idea if you packed the case yourself?" 'There is no long electrical device in my case!'
I was then taken and my fingers and case UVd for drugs. They open my case and find some hair straighteners!
"Did you put these in your case?" 'No' "But you packed you're case yourself? " 'Yes' "So how did they get in there?" 'I don't know' Security mumble to themselves
I turn to the wife who's happily through and waiting in the distance "Did you put these in my funking case!" 'Yes, there wasn't room in mine, I put them in just before we left!" Yet she has stood there watching the whole debacle. Funking clueless!
And this is before getting on the plane!!! I daren't buy any duty free's.
I went through security no problems. Waiting for my case to come through I was asked "did you pack your case yourself?" 'Yes' "There is a long electrical device in your case, what is it?" 'I have no idea' "How can you have no idea if you packed the case yourself?" 'There is no long electrical device in my case!'
I was then taken and my fingers and case UVd for drugs. They open my case and find some hair straighteners!
"Did you put these in your case?" 'No' "But you packed you're case yourself? " 'Yes' "So how did they get in there?" 'I don't know' Security mumble to themselves
I turn to the wife who's happily through and waiting in the distance "Did you put these in my funking case!" 'Yes, there wasn't room in mine, I put them in just before we left!" Yet she has stood there watching the whole debacle. Funking clueless!
And this is before getting on the plane!!! I daren't buy any duty free's.
I have flown a lot over many years, both short and long-haul. For a large part of that I never gave the potential risks a moments thought. I have never experienced any really major turbulence and apart from a few aborted landings have never had any incidents of any kind.
Then about 15 years ago I went through a period of a couple of years where I became extremely nervous at take-off time - grabbing on to the seat armrests for dear life, sweating etc. Nothing different had occurred, I just became very aware of the fact that I was hurtling down a runway in a large heavy piece of metal that somehow had to lift off of the ground. After a couple of minutes of being in the air I was absolutely fine and didn't give it a second thought, nor when it came to land. That nervousness stopped as suddenly as it started. I got over it by trying to concentrate on reading during take off or watching something on the iPad and don't know why it started.
I was lucky in that with our company for any flight >4 hours you flew business class and being able to use the lounges before the flight and the calmest of the cabin on the flight made it a much more pleasant experience for me.
So now I am retired the plan was to do more travelling for pleasure. However, in the last 3 years I have only flown 3 times within Europe. The bugger is that my wife (who also used to travel a lot for work) and I have 2 million air miles in our family BA account and have zero desire to get on a plane any time soon!
Oh and then the fuckery at the luggage carousel, every shitarse for miles stands on top of the thing staring vacantly with dribble hanging from their mouth at a load of cases that are not theirs invariably with all of their equally shitty family and one of the big trollies that they will dump as soon as they get to their awaiting coach transfer chariot
Comments
I did have a bad experience on a plane, got caught in a typhoon 8 coming back to Hong Kong. Plane felt like it was dropping 20 feet, then recovering ,then repeating. Pilot talking on the intercom with dread in his voice about attempting to land with zero visibility, high winds. People screaming, vomiting. It was a reet good laugh.
I did watch a air crash investigation documntary about a passenger plane that lost the use of it's tail rudder(?) and was in a mountainous area, in Asia somewhere, so they basically had to wait to run out of fuel before going down in the mountains. I think this was after I stopped flying though.
Coincidentally watch these 2 documentaries over the last few weeks. The first is definitely worth a watch, the blokes a legend -
Of course we could start a thread entitled "people you know whose lives have been destroyed or messed up by car accidents" and I could write half a page on that, but somehow we never see them because we are all great drivers, aren't we?
I lost 2 family members a few years back, everyone on board also dead.
On the upside I guess statistically it would be astronomical odds of anyone else I know to meet the same end. Anyone want to travel with me
I think the fear is of being so high up and not necessarily of crashing, which would maybe explain why the same people don't fear getting into and travelling in a car
https://fearlessflyer.easyjet.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6YOoyujv6wIVEuntCh1B3wdGEAAYASAAEgLUR_D_BwE
I actually found a pilot's three attempts to land at Gatwick more frightening. Partly, because there were three or four off-duty BA cabin staff on the flight that were screaming. On the third attempt, we landed and the pilot, in that typical pilot voice, said "Well, I think we will be the last flight coming into Gatwick for a while. I can tell you that the Air France flight that was also trying to land has turned round and gone back to France". It really did feel like a chant of "England 1 France 0" was needed.
Or have I just repeated your point and "personal make- up" means £££? Ha
It's a shame as I actually love planes as engineering marvels.
So am I, my arms ache like f**k after 10 minutes.
For many years I was like BA Baracus and would only fly when a sedative had been applied to my milk.
About ten years ago i was undone by wanderlust. Whilst there is plenty of beautiful things to see by train, foot, car and boat. The fear of not flying was more detrimental to me.
The pilot earned his money no doubt about that but seeing a stewardess screaming and crouching into the brace position also shit me right up. One of her friends told me after this mayhem was over that it was the most frightened she had ever been on a flight.
If I'm honest I find the concept of passenger flight insane, tonnes of tin and humanity being propelled through the air on something that would sink on water blows my mind. In a good way.
I find the whole bullshit with airports a million times more stressful than the flight itself but I enjoy nothing about air travel from the rumbling anxiety I will be late to the airport, break down, oversleep, forget my passport/wallet or have accidentally packed semtex or that someone else packed semtex. Then the pox with security and people not having a concept of personal space in the security bit to the bellowed instructions that seem to go over the head of an alarming number of people, unpacking everything, wondering if my kindle and mobile phone will set off a security alert or of I will be one of those people being patronised whilst looking sadly at a mess of chargers and electronic devices wondering why I bothered to pack things neatly in the hand luggage bag.
Then nervously buying some aftershave before trying to get something to eat and drink and to wonder why the boarding gate isn't on the electronic board or even the flight even though I'M HERE 3 HOURS BEFORE THE SILVER BIRD TAKES OFF LIKE I WAS TOLD. To trying to find somewhere to sit away from noisy space invading pricks who can't just hold a conversation at normal volume, to having about 6 pisses and trying to squeeze a dump out so I won't force the plane to land in France for doing a bad one on the plane and breaking the golden rule of not putting anything solid in a train or plane toilet. Or because of the time I nearly pissed myself on a Ryanair flight after take off which makes me only think of that while the seat belt sign is on and martialled with lethal force by the crew. Before this there is the mental scrum and ignoring of what seats and rows are being called to board where everyone rushes the gate as if the plane will leave without them if they don't try and pack on to a plane with booked seats.
Then a few hours of wondering who it is doing the rotten egg farts and why they chose to eat what smells like actual human poo within 48 hours of going on a plane, trying to read a book, wondering why people get the hump with others reclining seats, then getting the hump with the arsehole in front reclining their seat, getting irrationally angry with anyone who brings a child or worse a baby on a plane. Then the moronic display starts all over again when the plane lands and seemingly every dickhead leaps up to yank their bag out of the overhead locker and stand with their rank sweaty, swampy, dank arses right at the level of my face leaving me to stew on how I would kill, dismember and dispose of their stupid, ignorant body on a holiday resort.
I am definitely more anxious and tightly wound about the dicking about at airports than I am the taking off and landing
'Yes'
"There is a long electrical device in your case, what is it?"
'I have no idea'
"How can you have no idea if you packed the case yourself?"
'There is no long electrical device in my case!'
I was then taken and my fingers and case UVd for drugs. They open my case and find some hair straighteners!
"Did you put these in your case?"
'No'
"But you packed you're case yourself? "
'Yes'
"So how did they get in there?"
'I don't know'
Security mumble to themselves
I turn to the wife who's happily through and waiting in the distance
"Did you put these in my funking case!"
'Yes, there wasn't room in mine, I put them in just before we left!"
Yet she has stood there watching the whole debacle. Funking clueless!
And this is before getting on the plane!!! I daren't buy any duty free's.
Then about 15 years ago I went through a period of a couple of years where I became extremely nervous at take-off time - grabbing on to the seat armrests for dear life, sweating etc. Nothing different had occurred, I just became very aware of the fact that I was hurtling down a runway in a large heavy piece of metal that somehow had to lift off of the ground. After a couple of minutes of being in the air I was absolutely fine and didn't give it a second thought, nor when it came to land. That nervousness stopped as suddenly as it started. I got over it by trying to concentrate on reading during take off or watching something on the iPad and don't know why it started.
I was lucky in that with our company for any flight >4 hours you flew business class and being able to use the lounges before the flight and the calmest of the cabin on the flight made it a much more pleasant experience for me.
So now I am retired the plan was to do more travelling for pleasure. However, in the last 3 years I have only flown 3 times within Europe. The bugger is that my wife (who also used to travel a lot for work) and I have 2 million air miles in our family BA account and have zero desire to get on a plane any time soon!