How To Overcome Your Fear of Flying

by Craig Boyer

Disaster!

• Engine Stalls in Mid-flight! Jumbo Jet Spirals to Earth!
• Wing Falls Off over Atlantic! 747 Lost at Sea!
• Turbulence Knocks DC-10 out of Sky over Mountains! Passengers and Crew Feared Lost!

These are not actual headlines; these are examples of things that could never happen on a commercial airliner. But these are examples of real fears which occur to anxious passengers on every flight

The Facts

• Plane Crashes do Happen: in the last Decade more than a Dozen Commercial Jets have Crashed with Great Loss of Life
• However, During that same Period, Nearly a Hundred Million such Flights have Taken-off and Landed Without Incident
• You are more Likely to win the Lottery than to Die in a Commercial Airline Crash

However, for many fearful flyers, these statistics have no meaning: the slightest degree of danger outweighs the lure of distant places and far-flung family.

The Fears

• Fear of Heights
• Fear of Closed Spaces
• Fear of Crowds
• Fear of Fear

Of all these fears it is the last-the fear of fear-whose conquest can bring about a comfortable flight. Anxious flyers permit their bodies to control their mind: the physical state of fear provokes the mind to search for a cause. Comfortable flyers, in contrast, control their physiology with their knowledge.

Drive Time

From Minneapolis to Denver- 17 hours
From Minneapolis to Las Vegas- 28 hours
From Minneapolis to London- 2 days by land, 3 by sea

Flight Time

From Minneapolis to Denver- 2 hours
From Minneapolis to Las Vegas- 3 hours
From Minneapolis to London- 7 hours

 Seven Steps Toward A More Comfortable Flight

1: Plan your trip and order your tickets well in advance. If you are claustrophobic or prone to motion sickness choose a wide-bodied plane (e.g. an MD-80 or a 747) rather than a narrow-bodied plane (such as a DC-9).

2: Visit the airport. Watch the take-offs and departures. Count the number of arrivals and departures on the boards at the various gates. Remind yourself that every day and at airports all over the world hundreds of flights depart and arrive without incident.

3: Confirm your flight several days before your scheduled departure date. Plan carefully and if you can, provide for a few spare hours to be enjoyed at the airport before the flight (there is nothing wrong with indulging in a drink or two if you are so inclined).

4: Request exit row seating. For those who are claustrophobic this provides the most space on the plane. Also, in the rare case of emergency landing, those seated in these rows will be first to exit the aircraft.

5: Observe the arrival of the captain and the flight crew. Remember, these people are professionals and they value their lives and their safety as much as you do.

6: Bring reading material and candy or chewing gum. Reading can provide a comfortable diversion from the take-off and climb; chewing will relieve the pressure in your ears so often experienced during descent.

7: Enjoy your flight. Remember, air travel is the result of long practice in the application of the immutable laws of engineering and physics. Hundreds of people, from baggage checkers to mechanics to controllers to pilots are busy pursuing your safety.

Links

• airsafe.com
• anxieties.com
• faa.com