Fearless Flight » Fear

Fear of Flying or Fear of Dying

Diane Owens — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:38:53 +0000

Our website at Fearless Flight.com has the capability to track fear of flying keyword searches people make to end up here. I look at them occasionally, hoping to come up with new ideas for this blog.

Today I noticed Google keyword searches from Canada, the UK, Australia. People from every place imaginable are afraid to fly! The most popular keyword searches reflect this: fear of plane crashing, fear of turbulence, plane crash statistics, flying safety–every fearful flyer is looking for some reassurance that their plane isn’t going to crash.

What Puts the Fear in Fear of Flying?

Diane Owens — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:34:01 +0000

Our new poll “What’s the Scariest Part of Flying” has been up on FearlessFlight.com for about a month. Almost 900 people have voted. Many more people have looked at the choices of the poll and have apparently been too afraid to even enter their opinion. Takeoffs…YIKES! Landings…Oh MY! Turbulence…HOLY cow!

Do Fatality Rates Drive Your Fear of Flying?

Diane Owens — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:04:01 +0000

People who are afraid to fly all have something in common, a fear of crashing. They ask: What’s my chance of dying? When I saw an article about fatality rates on the front page of today’s Arizona Republic, I thought of all our FearlessFlight.com visitors who worry about crashes.

Here’s the headline that caught my eye: “Fatality Rate on Arizona Roads at Record Low.” I was wondering how many fearful drivers read the article and thought, “Gee, it’s getting safer to drive.”

Top 10 Worries Besides Fear of Flying

Diane Owens — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:57:36 +0000

Once you’re over your fear of flying, your trips can be like the kind former fearful flyer Rochell just emailed me about. Rochell just flew from Sydney to Hong Kong, her first overseas flight in 8 years!

“Am pleased to report that I had the best experience ever! I was even able to enjoy my holiday and not be filled with dread at the thought of having to get on a plane to return home. YAY!”

Leaving Fear of Flying Worries Behind

Diane Owens — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:59:45 +0000

People with a fear of flying tend to spend a lot of time worrying about things that can go wrong. I like to call them the “what if’s” of fear of flying:

What if we crash?
What if the plane’s too heavy to get off the ground?
What if there’s turbulence and the plane can’t take it?
What if I can’t take it and have a panic attack on board?
And the ultimate…what if I die?

Quick But Strange Fear of Flying Cure

Diane Owens — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:05:24 +0000

People constantly ask us what’s the best way to get over their fear of flying. We always tell them that ultimately “you gotta fly to get over it.”

Well, one guy took that advice to heart..or rather to the air, over and over again. Perhaps you heard of Mark Malkoff who decided to spend a month on a plane to overcome his fear of flying. Throughout the month of June, he took 135 flights, and according to the article in CBC news Canada online, he took anywhere from five to a dozen flights a day. Now that’s a whole new way to be a frequent flyer!

Fear of Flying… Real or Imagined?

Capt Ron — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:57:09 +0000

Of course fear of flying is real! Listen to this email:

I am going to Cancun for spring break this year. I have been on a plane about two other times but it seems the older I get the harder it is to fly. While I’m in the air I have major axiety and I just think of the worst that could happen! I try thinking of happy things but then bad things pop in my head. all the other flights I’ve been on I throw up. I always go with my family, so I have support. But, the whole time I feel like I might have a heart attack. and reading so many stories on planes crashing is not very often… but it could happen to me. Why not? So, that scares me.

Flying Cheap and Fear of Flying

Capt Ron — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:41:52 +0000

PBS Frontline aired an excellent documentary recently called “Flying Cheap.” It highlighted the problems with regional airlines—those airlines that supplement major airlines by flying routes not profitable to fly with larger planes. Frontline chose to air the program on the anniversary of the Colgan Air crash near Buffalo, NY.

I was surprised when I saw the special. And if I was surprised, I imagined you, the flying public, was shocked. Since I am an known as the fear of flying guy through my work at Fearless Flight.com, I immediately wondered what the reaction of fearful flyers would be. I don’t know for sure, but I can imagine a fearful flyer thinking something like, “But, Capt. Ron, you said that flying is the safest way to travel on the planet.”

From Cockpit to Hotseat

Capt Ron — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:50:59 +0000

As a fear of flying and aviation expert, the aftermath of the Miracle on the Hudson brought requests from the local media for my take on US Airways Flight 1549’s ditching in the Hudson River. In one day, I appeared on one channel three times as an aviation expert and once for my fear of flying expertise.

Pill-Popping Pilots–Are You Kidding Me?

Capt Ron — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:38:27 +0000

An email from recovering fearful flyer Regina was directed this week to Capt. Ron:

WHAAAAATTTTTT the FAA is going to allow pilots to fly while taking antidepressants???? (&_(*M&*$N)C(@*MX)@ What airlines are this dumb? And to agree with the FAA on this one? Passive aggressive and suicidal behavior are side effects anyone knows –(at let’s face any age on those puppies) – yes I know the pilot doesn’t want to die either and he sits up front! But but but he may become irrational and whatz his home life that he left that morning like?

But… not to worry, I am fine and will continue to fly from point A to point B, happily, how else would I get around? But perhaps while slipping back into fearful flyer mode just a hair.