Calming Your Fears About Air Travel
Facts and Figures:
Most of our everyday activities involve some amount of risk, but we categorize these risk factors as acceptable. If we did not, we might never drive, walk across a busy intersection or leave the house.
Fact: It is safer to fly with a major airline than engaging in the use of electrical power, riding a bike, swimming, hunting or undergoing anesthesia!
Fact: Statistically, the risk of serious injury or fatality by airline flight is comparable to taking a bath! (Some experts say taking an ordinary bath is more dangerous.)
Fact: In any given three month period, more people perish on American roads than have lost their lives by all of the airline accidents in the history of American Aviation!
Fact: A passenger flying on U.S. airlines would have to fly every day for 64,000 years before encountering a serious/life-threatening crash.
Just how safe is air travel?
The odds are most definitely in your favor. It is more likely that:
Odds
You will be a victim of suburban violence 1 in 2,000
You will perish in a fire this year 1 in 45,000
You will win a state lottery jackpot 1 in 4,000,000
You will be involved in an airline crash 1 in 4,700,000
What are YOU Afraid of?
When asked that question, these are the responses received most often from anxious flyers.
“I don’t know the pilot; I don’t trust a stranger to fly the plane”.
Consider this: Airline pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers are repetitively trained for any possible emergency situation. Frequent refresher courses and flight simulator training is regularly required of all active pilots. They are closely monitored by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). Remember: The people in the cockpit have families at home too! They are just as concerned about everyone getting home safely as you are.
“How do I know that this plane is safe?”
To be certified, aircraft are tested for flexibility and strength to an extent you’d find hard to believe. All airlines require regular maintenance, which is documented and reviewed before the plane is cleared to fly. Engines, hydraulic, electric and emergency mechanisms all have back-up systems in place; often more than one. A commercial airliner receives 12 hours of ground maintenance and inspection for each hour spent in the air. Consider this: Trained pilots fly airplanes into the eyes of hurricanes to measure the wind velocity. There has never been an instance of a plane sustaining any serious damage under these highly unusual (and what we likely think of as very dangerous) conditions. If your primary fear centers on the mechanics of aircraft, seek out a pilot to explain things more clearly. These professionals can answer your questions, no matter how technical.
“What if we encounter turbulence?”
Turbulence is not a threat to the function or structure of the aircraft, it’s that simple. Turbulence cannot damage or disable the aircraft in any way. Turbulence is to be respected, however. Do wear your seatbelt, just like you do in your own car. If you are not buckled in, you are taking a risk of being injured in the unlikely event that the plane experiences a dip or drop. Whether the “fasten your seat-belt” light is on or not, keep your seatbelt fastened. Pilots try very hard to avoid turbulence to increase your comfort-level.
Being buckled up almost completely eliminates any danger to you. Turbulence is much like riding on a bumpy road; the aircraft can tolerate it and so can you.
“What if we run into bad weather?”
Pilots continually monitor radar and radio transmissions to keep abreast of weather conditions. All efforts will be made to avoid flying through a storm to ensure you have a comfortable and pleasant trip. Did you know that you are actually safer in an airplane during a lightening storm than you are on land? This is because an airplane actually acts as a conductor, which lightening can strike with no damage to the plane or injury to the passengers.