SIMPLIFY Basics
Flight is a very safe means of transportation. The rate of casualties in-flight accidents is about two hundred times lower than the rate of casualties in road accidents. This figure already contains a reference to the total number of passengers. Flight is very safe, so there is no real reason for a ban on flying – you can too.
I can write a whole book about the fear of flying and especially about the reasons why this fear is based on a mistake, and in the following articles I will add and detail about it, but in short – let’s look at the components of the aviation world and touch on their characteristics.
The planes
Modern passenger planes are designed with the concept that there is no malfunction that will cause an accident. An engine that breaks down, a pilot who faints, fuel leakage, oil… whatever you want. Whoever set the standards by which aircraft are licensed did a thorough job!
The pilots
The pilots undergo long and complex training and have to pass many tests before they receive a license to fly passenger aircraft. But it totally does not end there: our license is valid for only half a year, and every six months we are required to retake training and tests to renew it. These are knowledge tests and a practical test in a flight trainer, a simulator, in which a senior pilot examines us for 8 hours in dealing with various and complex malfunctions, and in flying in severe weather conditions, which we would never agree to get into. The unequivocal requirement for passing the test successfully is to go through all these hardships with maximum confidence. If you travel without fear in a taxi, where you have no idea who the (single) driver is, what his health is, his fitness and when he was last tested – then you have nothing to fear when you fly and two trained and tested pilots are responsible for your safety..
The weather
The weather scares quite a few people. The bumps, or air pockets, as they are sometimes called, are a well-known meteorological phenomenon, like a badly paved road. And just as driving on a slightly bumpy road is not dangerous for someone sitting buckled up in the car, so are these turbulences in flight.
I do not expect you to fly completely fearlessly in the presence of severe turbulence, but familiarity with the facts helps: even those who seem serious to you do not tickle the plane. It does not fall, does not flip over or break, it is designed to withstand more loads than all these turbulences. And by the way – there are no pockets in the air, but we’ll discuss it in a separate article.
Is it possible to eliminate fear?
Not really. In fact, fear is a natural, and extremely important mechanism, and it is designed to warn us of a clear and immediate danger. In case of fear of flying this mechanism is simply wrong. Thorough knowledge and understanding, it is possible to counter fear with facts and fly safely.