Fear of Flying?

#6 on the List.

I love flying, I am a pilot with both Fixed and Rotary Wing licenses, have flown regular and aerobatic aircraft, owned a Grumman Tiger for several years, and have more than 3½ million airline miles.

When I step onto an airplane I am relaxed, looking forward to the flight, and excited to reach a new destination.

I also know the most dangerous part of flying is driving to and from the airport.

Fear of Flying ranks #6 in the top ten of Human Fears. Other fears in the top ten include public speaking, heights, snakes and spiders, fear of enclosed spaces, the dark, failure, rejection and death.

I have known people who would drive anywhere rather than fly. You may remember the noted sportscaster, John Madden, rode a bus to games coast to coast, he refused to get in an airplane.

I had lunch with a friend who had to fly for his job but said, “My knuckles are white the whole time.” When I asked his biggest fear, he said it was turbulence, “Every time the airplane bounces, I nearly have a heart attack.”

I told him that, by the time he feels the turbulence, the airplane is through it. He later told me that thought helped him relax.

I had another long-time friend who said he really wants to see the world but, “I am so afraid of flying I watch travel channels instead.”

My theory is nobody is actually afraid of flying, but many are afraid of how hard they might land!

That’s reasonable.

Air travel is amazingly safe, In the past year, US airlines flew approximately 13,971,048,718,000 that’s trillion! - miles without an accident, equivalent to about 2.3765842929 light-years.

But accidents involving flight are usually spectacular – think of the collision of the helicopter and airliner in Washington – that they command front page news, reporting is always hyper-dramatic, and those already fearful of flight find little comfort in the word ‘rare.’

On most flights I see at least one white-knuckle flyer, eyes closed, hands gripping the seat-rest on takeoff, landing, and every time we hit a little turbulence.

Turbulence is a fact of flying because unsettled air occurs from the ground up to about 60,000 feet, storms create rough air, and other factors like terrain and temperature cause instability. If you have ever flown into Denver or Salt Lake City in the winter, you know how uncomfortable it can be.

Generally, the higher the flight the less the turbulence which is one of several reasons airlines tend to fly at 35,000 feet or higher on most flights.

I do think the airlines and flight crews could do a much better job of explaining why turbulence, in most cases, is nothing to worry about.

And maybe, just maybe, airline language could be a little different. I mean, we fly to the ‘terminal’, that’s a little dramatic.

And the pilot usually ends his arrival announcement with, “We will be on the ground soon.” How about saying, ‘We will softly touch down in a few minutes.”

I will always love flying, love the view out the window, stare in awe at the brilliant cloud formations, the ocean below, the mountains reflecting the setting sun, and the world passing by outside.

I like the idea that we leave the caterpillar on the ground and become a butterfly in the air.