Pilots Offer Advice on Fear of Flying and the Realistic Dangers of Flight
Are you scared to fly? That’s quite a dilemma if you have to travel for business and don’t want to change jobs or professions! Actually, it’s pretty normal for people to have some anxiety while flying, but if you arm yourself with knowledge about how airplanes work and what the dangers really are, you can find yourself calming down.
Turbulence is a major trigger for passengers’ fear of flying, noted a recent article at Men’s Health that solicited advice from some seasoned pilots. While turbulence can be annoying, it is seldom dangerous. In fact, only one documented case of a plane crash caused by turbulence has been recorded, for a flight in 1966 when the pilot of a 707 buzzed Mt. Fuji in Japan.
Passengers often think the plane has fallen hundreds of feet during turbulence, which adds to their anxiety, but in truth, turbulence usually causes planes to change altitude by just 10 or 20 feet.
Perhaps you are afraid of the engines cutting out. But engine failure in an airplane is different from when it occurs in a ground vehicle. Even when the engine cuts out, the plane will continue to fly, much as a bicycle will continue moving forward even when you stop pedaling.
Smoke billowing in the cabin is another fearful situation that plagues fliers. Men’s Health noted that the most likely cause will be a faulty seal that keeps engine exhaust from getting into the plane’s air conditioning.
One of the scariest images bothering passengers is a bunch of oxygen masks falling from the ceiling. This takes place when there is a problem with the air pressurization equipment, or maybe there is a crack in the fuselage or a broken window or door. However, even in the remote cases where this happens, pilots have the training to properly descend as quickly as possible so passengers will be able to breathe the outside air.
At KEE Limousine, we don’t want our customers to feel anxiety or trepidation as we whisk them away to the airport for the next business trip. We hope that the comments and advice from seasoned pilots will help you reduce any fears you have of flying.
