Even the most fearless person experiences discomfort from time to time when he sees the plane on which he is about to fly. And a particularly strong attack of aerophobia is observed when you take that cherished step up the ladder, which separates you from the ground and hands you into the hands of changeable fortune.
“What if the plane crashes?” - everyone without exception asks themselves. However, this question remains for many people just another philosophical problem, but for some people the answer to it becomes the cause of a panicky fear of flying, which they cannot drown out. Such fear can seriously spoil life, because air travel, which often lasts more than several hours, is an integral part of the lives of many people.
Air travel means business trips, visits to distant countries, and visits to relatives. How can you overcome aerophobia and finally allow yourself to live fully?
Do you have aerophobia, mild anxiety, or something else?
First you need to figure out whether you have aerophobia or not. Almost all people experience some discomfort and anxiety during flights, but all these unpleasant emotions cannot yet be called fear of flying. True fear of flying forces a person to avoid flying, and if a flight is unavoidable, then during it the unfortunate person’s nerves will be on edge.
Also, very often, people confuse aerophobia with other “phobias”, for example, claustrophobia, acrophobia (fear of heights), fear of the unknown and the inability to influence an event. In practice, there are mixtures of such fears and one article will not do it.
The most severe cases of aerophobia and other “phobias” can be treated by a psychologist; fortunately, there are specialists in Russia working in this field. Pilots, flight attendants and other personnel for whom daily flights have become a part of life are often invited to lectures, while psychologists teach their students to control fear.
If the fear of flying is not too strong, you can cope with it on your own. But! First, let's talk about what methods you shouldn't resort to.
What not to do if you are afraid of flying
Firstly, you should not use alcohol as a sedative. This can only exacerbate anxiety, and coupled with dry air and low pressure on board, even more so. At high altitudes, the effect of alcohol increases and even small portions can lead to intoxication, loss of strength and mood, and quickly cause a hangover.
Secondly, there is no need to study information about the aircraft in too much detail, or scour the Internet for information about accidents involving this aircraft model, no matter how much you would like to do so.
When taking a step on the ramp, remember that the airplane is one of the safest vehicles today. How often do you hear about plane crashes?
Yes, this sometimes happens, once or twice a year, and if you consider how many flights are carried out around the world every day, it turns out that accidents with planes are very, very rare.
Imagine this: every second there are from 4,000 to 10,000 aircraft in the air! There are tens of thousands of flights every day. More than 5 billion people fly on airplanes every year, that is, figuratively, the entire population of the Earth. The total number of victims of plane crashes is 300-400 people. ALONE does not return from the flight! out of 12 million people. That is, in Moscow, relatively speaking, one person dies per year!
But the capital loses about 30 thousand people annually in various road accidents, i.e. 30,000 times more. It's much more dangerous to take a bus; you're not afraid of buses, right? If a passenger boarded a random flight every day, it would take him 21,000 years to get into an accident.
A visual map of daily flights around the world
A little physics and common stereotypes
While studying the issue of aerophobia, we came to the conclusion that about 65% of people who suffer from this ailment (and this is a disease) are afraid of turbulence, the twitching of an airplane in the air, and generally believe that this joke can easily fall from a height of 10 km, failing into the "air pocket". We are preparing an article especially for such passengers - “Turbulence and the elementary laws of physics.”
Another popular opinion is that airlines, especially Russian ones, fly in shambles, and that pilots and flight attendants are a mixture of kamikaze suicide bombers and alcoholics. It probably came from the 90s and early 00s.
This is wrong. All Russian airlines operating regular passenger services have international quality and safety certificates: IATA, ICAO and IOSA. This means that service and maintenance, as well as the condition of aircraft and the qualifications of flight crews, meet international standards.
Take a break!
“Yes, but that doesn’t console me. After all, I'm so unlucky. I won’t be surprised that the plane I’m on will crash,” this is how, despite all the statistics, many passengers “comfort” themselves.
If, despite all logical arguments, such thoughts creep in, then all that remains is to resort to relaxation methods. For example, you can listen to music or sounds of nature, read a book.
In general, somehow distract yourself from what is happening. As practice shows, many people are calmed by delicious food and drinks, so bring some chocolate with you. But it’s better not to drink coffee on the plane, because caffeine can further inflame your already excited nervous system. Instead of coffee, it is better to take a herbal sedative tablet with some water.
All the above methods do not help you? Then close your eyes, focus on your breathing and imagine the purpose of your trip. Is this a wonderful country you want to visit? You are already on the way to realizing your dreams! Will this trip help you advance your career? Then now, sitting on the plane, you are taking a decisive step towards future well-being.
An airplane is the safest transport on Earth!
And finally, a few more facts about airplanes:
- The plane stays in the air as confidently as any car on the road, and the ship at sea.
- On an airplane, absolutely all systems are duplicated, and some even have 2-3 spare duplicates.
Often on a plane 4 brake systems, 3 landing gear systems, 3 fuel systems, 3 fire protection systems, 3 control systems, etc.
- On a passenger plane, at least two engines. Failure of all engines at once is negligible. For example, on average, a single engine failure occurs every 2 million flight hours, which is 228 years of continuous operation!
According to the existing requirements for passenger aircraft, the aircraft, if one of the engines fails, must retain the ability to fly without reduction (at normal flight weight and in normal weather conditions) and safely make a normal landing.
For example, on the popular Boeing 737, the scheduled time for an emergency flight on one engine is 2 hours.
- The engine is one of the most expensive parts of an aircraft. His price about 10 million dollars, so they are very carefully monitored and looked after.
- Each plane crash has its own cause, and often not just one, but a combination of circumstances. Each such case is carefully studied and measures are taken to ensure that it does not happen again.
- Every year, total passenger traffic increases by 10%, and the number of accidents decreases by 15%
Considering all this and statistical data, we boldly say that an airplane is the safest means of transportation on Earth!
Most human fears are formed as a result of ignorance. For example, many of us are afraid to fly on an airplane and get into the cabin covered in cold sweat. If only you knew more about life in civil aviation, you would stop being nervous. We take the liberty to fill this gap and provide facts about flight safety.
According to statistics, air travel is the safest
We are all interested in news, so the fact of frequent accidents on highways cannot escape our attention. Indeed, traffic reports are replete with accidents, many of which are fatal. While plane crashes are extremely rare, for some reason, news of incidents that occurred in the sky is circulated with terrible force. However, as you understand, boarding an airplane is much safer than going on a road trip. If you look at statistics, you will find out that the chance of a person dying in a car accident is one in five thousand. The chance of dying on board an airplane is much more slim: one in eleven million. Even a lightning strike has a greater chance of killing a person.
Plane crashes attract intense attention
No TV channel or news publication will bring news of a car accident to the front pages of newspapers. Unfortunately, such incidents have become commonplace and shock few people. It could be the case of a plane crash, which often entails the declaration of national mourning. The human grief is disproportionately great, because a plane crash takes the lives of several dozen and even hundreds of passengers. This news is worthy of close attention, it plunges people into shock, it can be exaggerated for a long time, making guesses as to the reasons that led to the tragedy. Thus, although there are only a few isolated airliner crashes around the world each year, the average person has the impression that plane crashes occur on a regular basis. 
Flying becomes safer every year
In the mid-20th century, when passenger air travel was just emerging as an industry, fatal accidents occurred on average once every 200,000 flights. Over the years, aircraft designers have improved aircraft models, introducing more and more measures aimed at passenger safety. All this has led to the fact that commercial transportation has now become safer, which is confirmed by statistics. These days, fatal accidents in the sky occur on average once every two million flights.
Pilot Lyokha - also known as Pobeda Airlines pilot Alexey Kochemasov - tells why traveling by car and train is much scarier than flying by plane.
We're flying. The plane is chattering, but not much. A flight attendant comes into the cockpit and says that the passenger is hysterical. I ask you to bring her to me. The young girl is all pale and shaking. I sit her next to me and just talk, explaining that everything is fine with us. 15 minutes of calm dialogue - and no phobia. This old incident made me think - why are people afraid to fly?
This is how Pobeda Airlines pilot Alexey Kochemasov, better known on the Internet as pilot Lyokha, began a meeting with passengers in Yekaterinburg. Those who adore the sky and those who adore Lyokha came. The Life correspondent was more likely to belong to the third group of those gathered - aerophobes who want to overcome this disease.
Most people are afraid to fly because they don't know what happens on the plane. Incomprehensible sounds, grinding, steam. For example, I myself am afraid of trains. I travel by train, yes. But over long distances in my entire life (pilot Lyokha is 51 years old. - Approx. Life) I only went two or three times. I can’t say that I have a panicky fear of trains, but I feel uncomfortable, I think trains are dangerous transport, because they constantly go off the rails. And I don’t understand the principle of operation - why don’t the wheels fall inside the rails, especially when turning?
Phobia from ignorance is cured in one go! It is enough to simply explain what happens and at what moment.
The second group of people are those who are afraid because they do not control the flight. They say: I don’t see where the plane is flying, I can’t do anything, nothing depends on me.
But you are a passenger in a car! The driver has a steering wheel and pedals, but you have nothing. And then KamAZ flies head-on. What can you do? Nothing.
The third group is the most difficult - they need to immediately see a psychiatrist. These are those who are internally ready to die. When they find out that they need to fly - two weeks or a month in advance - they begin to eat themselves. Recently, in Cheboksary, a plane rolled off the runway. Although there was nothing terrible there, the media begin to promote: “No one died,” “There were no injuries.” This information catches the eye everywhere, and the person screws himself up. As he prepares to fly, he prepares to die. He thinks: planes haven’t fallen for a long time, so mine will fall. He comes on board already with a feeling of doom.
Such people are very easy to recognize. Men usually get drunk. And alcohol in the air is a dangerous and insidious thing. As one rises to altitude, a person experiences oxygen starvation and alcohol is not broken down in the body, that is, absorption does not occur. Therefore, if 150 grams of vodka drunk on the ground is nothing for a healthy man, then at altitude he is already blown away.
Women are even easier to identify. She yells at the taxi driver, she was given the wrong seat at check-in, her luggage was put in the wrong place, she gets on the plane and insults the flight attendants. The woman begins to make trouble.
I realized that it was useless to say anything to such passengers, and I didn’t know how to deal with them. They are dangerous. The plane shook violently - the panicker jumped up and ran to open the doors. Other passengers, who were not ready to die, panic and also help open the door. Flight attendants often stop at the door those who want to “exit” during the flight.
“As the classics said, knowledge is power,” adds Alexey. That is why he started his pilot Lyokhi blog in the 2000s. He helps people understand the intricacies of aviation, gladly answers all questions, even provocative ones, and does everything so that passengers stop being afraid of flying. For example, after a flight you can ask Lyokha to come into the cockpit. So be sure to listen to the captain’s name, and if Alexey is there, then come in for a look.
In the meantime, he tells the audience about the most popular fears and myths about flying.
Takeoff - landing
Why are takeoff and landing the most difficult and stressful moments in flight? Due to the proximity of the earth. This is a time crunch. The plane runs along the runway, the speed increases and increases, but it still cannot take off, there is still not enough lift. There comes a moment when the plane is no longer “running”, but is not yet flying, then it takes off - and still it flies, but the speed is low, it only accelerates. And if something happens, the time margin is minimal - you need to react instantly. It’s one thing when a plane flies at an altitude of 12 thousand meters, it will take 20 minutes to fall to the ground - there’s a wagon of time there. And near the ground everything will happen in 20 seconds. And statistics say that disasters most often occur during takeoff/landing. The cases when a plane fell from above can be counted on one hand, and there were always some external factors - terrorist attacks.
During takeoff and landing, a roll (tilt) of the aircraft of 30 degrees is allowed. Moreover, I will surprise you, but in the operating instructions for Boeing aircraft it is written that you can perform a “barrel roll” on them. Of course, this is not normal practice. Boeing writes that when your plane turns out to be banked more than 90 degrees (the nose is down or is falling somewhere), you don’t need to take it away, turn the barrel and fly on. By and large, the plane doesn’t care how you fly - even upside down.
Turbulence
Not all companies in the world, in principle, bypass the bumpy plane - Asians always fly directly. Most videos of trays and items falling from luggage compartments are from Asian airlines. Probably it’s a matter of mentality - they believe in reincarnation.
Jokes aside, imagine a large glass ball. Let's put a mouse there and let it run into the stream. He floats, he is rocked by the current. What will happen to the ball? Nothing. What will happen to the mouse? Nothing either, but she will be chatted. An airplane flies in an uneven environment - there are air currents. Between Greenland and Canada over the Baffin Sea (there is approximately 800 km, flight hour) the wind blows on average 300-400 km per hour. It's always shaking there. Sausages from the heart.
Why do you need to wear a seat belt? So that your head doesn't hit the ceiling, but nothing will happen to the plane. Therefore, the issue of turbulence should not arise at all. Shakes and shakes.
Old plane
How does a passenger rate the plane? He comes in and sees: a new seat, carpets, a pleasant smell - that means the plane is new. But the interior of an airplane is not an indicator of its technical condition. When there were intensive flights to Egypt (it was on this route that for some reason rowdy passengers flew all the time), in the new cabin, after several flights, the back of the seat was already torn off, chewing gum was stuck on, the inscriptions “I love you, Masha”, a three-letter word. If a pocket on a seat is torn off, the entire row of seats must be dismantled, and the plane must take off in one and a half to two hours. They simply don't have time to fix it.
The age of an aircraft and its reliability are very loosely related. There are still several airlines in the world that operate the Douglas DC-3. They stopped producing them in the middle of the 20th century, but they still carry passengers. American Airlines has one of the oldest fleets in the world: the average age of aircraft is 17 years. The youngest is at Pobeda: our planes are not two years old.
I have had the opportunity to fly on airplanes of both very ancient design and very recent ones. And it turned out that new ones break more often. Surprising but true. It’s like a car: when you take it from the factory, there are “childhood diseases”, and here too, some small dirty tricks come out all the time.
Alexey's words sound convincing. Sometimes he switches to technical details, draws diagrams, writes formulas, uses words I don’t understand. There is no doubt about his professionalism. And he, in turn, vouches for the others: an inexperienced person will never be seated at the controls of an airplane. And in general, it is much more dangerous to smoke near the entrance in the spring. Icicles fall more often.
I recently conducted a survey in a community on the social network VKontakte, the question was: “Are you afraid of flying on airplanes?” and you could choose several answer options from those proposed. More than one and a half thousand people took part in the survey. The most popular answer, to my surprise, was: “I love to fly,” which received 25 percent of the votes, the second most popular was “Yes, I’m afraid, but I fly,” with 23 percent. The remaining votes were distributed as follows:
“Never flown” - 21 percent,
“I treat it calmly, like I treat any transport” - 16 percent,
“No, I’m not afraid” - 10 percent,
“Yes, I’m afraid, that’s why I don’t fly at all” - 5 percent.
As can be seen from this survey, more than a quarter of respondents over 18 years of age are afraid to fly on airplanes and 5 percent do not fly at all because of this fear. Let's try to discard the emotional component of flying and turn to pure statistics; perhaps this approach will allow some readers to change their attitude towards flying.
2012 was the safest year in the history of world aviation. Over the past year, civil aviation aircraft transported more than 5 billion! people, while for the entire year there were 23 plane crashes and 475 people died, the vast majority in third world countries (from the point of view of aviation safety, Russia is a third world country). In developed countries, not a single plane crash has occurred in which people died, and this despite the fact that the main world aviation traffic occurs in developed countries. Airplanes have long been one of the safest modes of transport, and this year’s statistics only strengthened this statement. And even in the event of a plane crash, the probability of survival is 25 percent. Despite the encouraging statistics, many people are still afraid to fly on airplanes.
Well, now let’s add a fly in the ointment and look at the statistics of air accidents in Russia:
“In the first half of 2012, there were 3 accidents with commercial aviation aircraft in Russia (1 disaster in which 33 people died and 2 accidents), 403 incidents, 7 emergencies and 53 damage to aircraft on the ground” - .
Including:
- 13 threats of collisions in the air (one of them is occupying another flight when trying to hide an engine failure on a Boeing 747 aircraft in the Novosibirsk region);
- 6 rollouts outside the runway (several of them are associated with the regular failure of the mechanisms of the front landing gear of the Boeing 737 due to a leaking front toilet);
- 194 failures of aircraft systems (of which 19 incidents related to depressurization of A-320, Boeing-737/757, CL-600, RRJ-95B aircraft);
- 50 engine failures;
- 2 flights on an icy ship (a disaster in Tyumen and a sensational video on the Internet of an Aeroflot board from the cabin).
The statistics of aviation accidents in Russia are not encouraging and we lag far behind other developed countries in this regard, largely because of this I feel anxious when I have to fly in Russia or on Russian airlines, and this despite the fact that, in principle, I am very I love to fly.
I don’t know what I did more with this post, scared you or convinced you of the safety of air travel, I hope it’s the latter. I feel sorry for people who, due to aerophobia, limit themselves to travel, because travel is what we will remember after many years and what we will tell our family and friends.
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Statistics stubbornly claim that this type of transport is the safest of all available.
- Let's figure out whether it is dangerous to fly by air?
On the plane, some passengers feel comfortable, while others look forward to landing. Some panic so much that they prefer land transport, to the detriment of their own time and comfort.
- Every day people travel thousands of kilometers in the sky for various reasons, is it dangerous?
First of all, you need to fly with a positive attitude. Recently, news from all over the world has been broadcasting about airliner crashes and numerous casualties. It is not surprising that many refuse the opportunity to travel by this type of transport. But don’t go into the forest to be afraid of a wolf, so you should take the following information into account when traveling by plane.
Myth 1 - flying on airplanes is dangerous
The slogan of any airline is: “The well-being of passengers comes first.”
Modern aircraft meet all standards, they are reliable and undergo regular inspections. Theoretically, it is impossible for aircraft equipment to fail during flight., several cases were recorded when the technology failed. Whether it is dangerous enough to refuse flights is up to each tourist to decide for himself. Many people don't even think about the risks when flying on an airplane.
When choosing flights from large companies, you can be sure of their responsibility. Such companies hire the best pilots who pass tests and exams, demonstrating their professionalism. Knowledgeable people claim that in most cases, a plane crash is influenced by the human factor; in this case, technology does not fail.
We recommend that you simply relax during the flight - after the plane has taken off, nothing depends on you. Why worry again? It is better to direct your efforts to have time to take the best seats on the plane, which will maximize your feeling of comfort on board the aircraft.
Note:
How to choose a safe seat on an airplane?
Useful recommendations - which seats on board the airliner you should pay attention to when choosing seats for your upcoming flight. Information article on which seats on an airplane are considered the safest during a flight: reasonable explanations and arguments.
Myth 2 - Planes crash all the time
Any fear prevents you from living fully. But fear of flying can cost a person his career or personal life. It’s absurd to give up on your dream trip just because you’re afraid to fly. The route to the airport may be much more dangerous. Should you be afraid of air travel if life is generally unpredictable?
I would like to note that there is minimal risk, but flying by plane means saving time on other equally important matters. A person is frightened by the inability to control the situation; airplane passengers have no control over this. If the bus can be left at the nearest stop, then the plane cannot. Sometimes fear can take over a person’s mind to such an extent that he completely forgets about the established rules of conduct on an airplane, which creates a nervous environment among all passengers. Details of plane crashes can now be seen in the news, read in newspapers, and even watch a video of the crash itself on the Internet. Such footage undoubtedly terrifies and makes you think a hundred times about the danger before fastening your seat belts in the cabin. But should you believe everything that is broadcast on TV? How true is the information? It should be noted that there is a greater chance of dying from obesity, being struck by lightning or being attacked by a hippopotamus than of crashing while flying over the clouds.
From scientifically proven - safety
How safe is an airplane? There are many misconceptions, legends and opinions based on rumors and stories of other people about the safety of traveling by this transport. It is worth noting that official statistics differ from the results of social surveys. Is it dangerous to give preference to air transport? Of course not! It is possible and even necessary to fly an airplane, despite the fears that you have to face. People believe that air transport is the most dangerous, while land transport does not pose such a threat. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite, it has been proven that there is only one accident per million flights, while car accidents happen every day.
Air crash researchers claim that the cause of the accident is a combination of rare circumstances, the percentage of which will be repeated is negligible.
When giving preference to this type of transport, keep in mind that every three seconds a plane lands safely on our planet.
Have a nice flight and soft landing!
