What makes people so afraid of flying?

[KristinHerreraFan]

What's the real reason that your scared of flying? I've been flying all my life, and I am not afraid. But whats with all this terror, my cousin who lives in Connecticut REEEAAALLLY wants to visit us as she has free time this summer, but she refuses to because she's terrified of flying.

But what makes flying so scary?

Are you afraid your gonna get sick, maybe even barf in those barf bags?

Are you afraid there will be a killer on the plane with a plan to kill everyone on the plane even YOU?

Are you afraid you'll run into a little turbulence?

Are you afraid your gonna be in a plane crash?

what is it???!?!?

[Czas na Zywiec]

There's more of a chance of dying in a car crash than by a plane crash. There are millions of flights around the world a day and when you hear about one crash every couple of years, that means less than 0000000000000000000000000000001% of flights will crash. The last time I heard about a plane crash was almost four years ago when I a plane crashed in North Carolina. I remember because I was flying home from Chicago the same night.

[lilhave]

What's the real reason that your scared of flying? I've been flying all my life, and I am not afraid. But whats with all this terror, my cousin who lives in Connecticut REEEAAALLLY wants to visit us as she has free time this summer, but she refuses to because she's terrified of flying.

But what makes flying so scary?

Are you afraid your gonna get sick, maybe even barf in those barf bags?

Are you afraid there will be a killer on the plane with a plan to kill everyone on the plane even YOU?

Are you afraid you'll run into a little turbulence?

Are you afraid your gonna be in a plane crash?

what is it???!?!?

As there is a expression "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder", fear also is in the eyes of the individual. Folks have phobias to a million things. Some are fearful of snakes, some spiders, some heights, some leaving the house, some cats etc. Some of these phobias are so pronounced that many need professional help to cope with their problems.

From your question all of the above are possibilities. Maybe they lost a loved one in a plane accident, maybe they saw films of a ghastly accident, maybe they don't like that they can't control a situation, whatever it is, to them the fear is real.

Why do some like chocolate ice cream and other's hate it? We are all different.

Harvey

[Rachel3118]

It is weird that so many people are afriad of flying when it is a lot safier then a lot of things. I guess it could be for any of the reasons you listed.

When I first flew on a plane I was a little nervous but not really afraid. On the plane my ears started to hurt a lot. On the way back I was afraid it would be the same way but it wasn't.

[Chain Gang Member]

They're afraid of something happening to the plane and they could die.I liked going on a plane.It was much faster than driving and wasting gas

[Janice]

Just the fact of being so high up and going so fast. I don't care about the law averages of a crash. Safer than car travel, etc, etc. I'm sure a lot of the people who died in plane crashes told themselves that very thing.

[Ireneparalegal]

Just the fact of being so high up and going so fast. I don't care about the law averages of a crash. Safer than car travel, etc, etc. I'm sure a lot of the people who died in plane crashes told themselves that very thing.
:yeahthat very well put Janice. i am afraid of dying. I can't control a plane, but i can control HOW I DRIVE.

[Czas na Zywiec]

:yeahthat very well put Janice. i am afraid of dying. I can't control a plane, but i can control HOW I DRIVE.

You can't control a drunk driver. The very least you can hope is that you don't get a drunk pilot. :lol:

[Number 9 Dream]

Good question. I think for me personally, I am afraid of not being in control. When you're up in the air like that, you're putting your life in the hands of the pilot. Being so high up in the air is another factor for me.

I have never been on a plane and I doubt I'll be on one any time soon. The idea of it just makes me so scared.

[Ireneparalegal]

You can't control a drunk driver. The very least you can hope is that you don't get a drunk pilot. :lol:
which occurs more often than you think.

[Czas na Zywiec]

which occurs more often than you think.

Really? I never would have thought. They never show anything like that on Airline! They only show drunk hicks. :lol:

[Lex Luthor]

Good question. I think for me personally, I am afraid of not being in control. When you're up in the air like that, you're putting your life in the hands of the pilot. Being so high up in the air is another factor for me.

I have never been on a plane and I doubt I'll be on one any time soon. The idea of it just makes me so scared.

For me it has nothing to do with hieghts and for some reason Helicoptors are fine. A huge part of it is control and not really having any but i think the biggest thing for me is the cramped confined spaces. I really do not worry about the plane crashing but I would rather have teeth pulled than get on a plane.

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

Yeah I mean, I think with planes it's that you're in the air. In cars you're actually on earth, you can escape and you just feel more in control.

[theshark8777]

Like David Hogan said on the Hogan Family, I'm not afraid of flying, I'm afraid of crashing.

[theshark8777]

Just the fact of being so high up and going so fast. I don't care about the law averages of a crash. Safer than car travel, etc, etc. I'm sure a lot of the people who died in plane crashes told themselves that very thing.

They always say you are more likely to be in a car accident, well duh! I'm in a car everyday, I've been in a plane once in 28 years.

[Dr. John Becker]

Like David Hogan said on the Hogan Family, I'm not afraid of flying, I'm afraid of crashing.


:lol:
That's exactly how I feel.

[lilhave]

The Top 10 Signs You're Flying On A Bad Airline


The engine's being held on by duct tape.


You see the Gorilla from those old Samsonite commercials running loose up and down the aisles.


In-flight movie has "Ernest" in its title.


Pilot informs you that you're at cruising altitude and he's gonna put the top down.


Instead of Peanuts, you get a healthy helping of SPAM.


As you're taking off, the stewardess mentions the phrase "Guest Pilot Program"


The seats are wet due to flotation device moisture.


The stewardess asks you to join the Mile High Club..."she" has a beard and bigger arms than you!


Pilot asks if there is anyone else who wants a shot of Beam before he finishes the bottle.


You look down and see a copy of "Fixing a Plane for Dummies" by the mechanic's feet!!!

Harvey

[dawsongirl]

Crashing, cuz I guess I think, if I crash in a car, there's a better chance of surviving vs. freefalling out of the air.

Being stuck in there for more than an hour. I don't know if it's the confinement or what, but longer than an hour and I panic. How the hell I'm ever going to get to Hawaii is a mystery.

Airplane bathrooms.

Getting sick. Either while on the plane (I don't suffer from air sickness, I mean general stomach upset), or contracting germs in that virus incubator with all the dirty, germy morons I have to sit with. Yuck.

One time I blew out my middle ear on a flight. That hurt like hell for the next month. I don't feel like going thru that again.

Flying over water.

Being forced to sit with strangers. Hasn't happened lately, but I refuse to sit next to people I don't know. That is absolutely no time to be social for me.

[Pitooey]

I hate the turbulence. When turbulence starts I get bloated big time. I swallow so much air and start to sweat.

I haven't been on a plane for 6 years. Now that 9-11 happened I'm in Code FEAR. I have no idea what's going to happen to me when I have to travel far.

I'll probably have to be sedated.

[I am Roboto]

Yeah I mean, I think with planes it's that you're in the air. In cars you're actually on earth, you can escape and you just feel more in control.

Exactly. Planes may be much safer overall, with screwups ocurring much more rarely, but the fact is, if a plane crash does occur you stand a much better chance of fairing poorly than in a car.

[Seth]

I honestly love to fly more than I even love to drive - and I LOVE to drive. If I had the money I'd fly more often (Heck, if I had the resources, I'd like to own a plane myself)

[Seth]

Let me recount to you some of the fun I've had in aviation. Interestingly enough every problem I've ever had was on a return flight. Wonder if that's a sign....:lol:

Anyway,
Coming back from Florida in 1997, for reasons that completely escape me at the time, we took off in a rather nasty thunderstorm. Made it up fine, but the turbulence was pretty bouncy.

While waiting for a flight home from Dallas (the layover between Dallas and Nashville), the plane we were supposed to be on had "mechanical problems". So we change planes. Mechanical problems again. Change planes. Three guesses what happened. If it hadn't been a rather large group - there was no way they could accomodate 50-ish people together - we would have wound up taking a different flight, but as I said it just wouldn't have worked, so...one final plane. And by golly, we came home just fine. But I've never seen so many planes have so many concurrent mech. problems.

Then there was Baltimore. My political science class had been to DC for the Inauguration. Anyone remember the weather that hit the mid-Atlantic right around that time? Yeah. They must have had a good foot on the ground at BWI. They worked their butts off to get the runways cleared for the planes still in the air, and maybe, if they were really lucky, a few planes might even get to take off before the snow just became too much. We were one of the planes that got the, uh, priveledge to take off. An hour in-plane at the gate. 30 minutes of de-icing. While trying to make it down the snowy/icy runway, the airplane was a bit slippery. The snow and wind was creating extra drag on the plane. Once we got up, there was decent turbulence. Of course, that was also the most FUN I've ever had on an airplane (no, not THAT kind of fun). I think I might have even mentioned it somewhere here on SO before.

And despite ALL the problems, if someone offered me round trip tickets from Anywhere to Anywhere at this very moment, and I could afford it, I'd go. Flying is THAT great from my perspective.

[cmcb06]

I personally have no problems with flying, fly quite often.

But I can understand why some people are afraid of flying, it can be kinda scary I guess.

[Steve M.]

What makes people afriad of flying? I'll give you 9 to 11 guesses! :eek: