Plane Crashes

Is anyone afraid to fly now that we have 3 downed jets. I think I will not fly around the Africa area or Russia vicinity????

Afraid? Why? You're still, statistically, far more likely to be killed on the way to the airport than you are on even the most unsafe airline.

Is anyone afraid to fly now that we have 3 downed jets. I think I will not fly around the Africa area or Russia vicinity????

So if a plane crashed in Canada tomorrow, would you avoid flying around North America? In the Air Algerie crash, the plane itself was Spanish, likely with Spanish crew, that was leased by Air Algerie. So in reality you should avoid Western Europe if it turns out to be crew and/or aircraft related. And I guess Asia should be avoided too, thanks to the crash in Taiwan.

I am an aerospace engineer and frequent flier. I am not afraid to fly today, tomorrow or in any foreseeable future.

How many auto accidents happened this past week? Are you afraid to drive or ride in a car? I know the argument-many auto accidents don't result in death and most plane crashes do. That said, I'll still take my chances on a flight....even though I have to drive to the airport to board it.

I'm a white knuckle flyer so I'm always tense while flying.:o

Flying is far safer than driving, yet people probably never give driving around the city a second thought.

I will concede that flying in a war zone may not be prudent.

Flying is far safer than driving, yet people probably never give driving around the city a second thought.

 

I will concede that flying in a war zone may not be prudent.

But even then, it's safe 99.999% of the time.

The psychology is that airline crashes take people "in bunches". It's the "all at once" that both gets the news attention and the fear. As mentioned above, you are FAR safer in your airline seat than behind the wheel of your car.

Let me pose this thought problem: What if the lead story on the evening news was "92 people died today in car accidents"? And you heard that same story day after day? Because that's the rough daily average for the 33000+ highway deaths per year. What if the story was "640 people died this week"?

But even then, it's safe 99.999% of the time.

Probably, but as a general rule, I try to stay out of war zones, and that includes the airspace. I wouldn't drive a car in a war zone either, LOL.

Wouldn't bother me in the least. I've been flying for about 58 years now all over the world. Why stop now?

We actually drove through a war zone back in 1969. It started up between Honduras and El Salvador while we were there. Our hotel was bombed the day after we left. No problems for us.

Probably, but as a general rule, I try to stay out of war zones, and that includes the airspace. I wouldn't drive a car in a war zone either, LOL.

Sometimes you don't always have a choice as a passenger. I flew over Iraq a few times in the late 2000s, while it was still pretty violent over there, enroute between Europe and the Middle East (i.e. London to Dubai often takes you right over Baghdad and/or Basra...even from 35k feet up they look awful, especially Basra). Have flown over Syria since the conflict there started, too. Afghanistan too.

I'm a white knuckle flyer so I'm always tense while flying.:o

Me too!!!

I totally get the statistic thing that it's safe to fly... really I do. But the little portion of my brain where that phobia resides doesn't really care so much about the statistics. However, I LOVE to cruise and travel in general and this usually requires some amount of flying. I just pop an anti-anxiety drug, order a glass of wine the second the beverage cart comes around (totally ignoring the fact that the aforementioned pill shouldn't be combined with alcohol :eek::p) and try to find something to occupy my mind until I can get my feet back on Terra firma :D

Melissa

I used to laugh at myself for asking if it were safe to travel here or there. I worked for 25 years as a school librarian in an elementary school. Safe right? Well not so much. I worked in a neighborhood right on the District of Columbia line and we averaged 17 -20 extended family deaths per year in the apartment complex the school served and through which I drove every day and often in the dark. The area is and was one of the harshest drug areas in the US -- exactly 6.2 miles from White House. I have personally gathered children off the playground as police and drug sellers dueled it out with dogs chasing and hand guns pulled. (WE really HAD A MEETING about that. ) I have met with brothers of my students who "could get my hubcaps back for $20" and also accepted them starting my car without battery or the keys;). Probably had more stolen at work than on travels but it is true there were more work days than vacation! New territory is more scary I guess than the norm and big scary stories get the attention more so than the small acts of violence but a person is just as dead!

It pays to take a cautious attitude but also to trust that all will go well. I am not planning trips to Russia or Middle East right now (and I did have them penciled in for the last 3 years) -- too many more peaceful places to go. I still drive a car but now that retired try not to drive when all the crazies are going back and forth on roads that are too crowded.

A little fatalistic -- if it is my time to go I will be glad in the Lord but until then I am having an absolute wonderful adventure here on earth. Safe travels to all.

Me too!!!

 

I totally get the statistic thing that it's safe to fly... really I do. But the little portion of my brain where that phobia resides doesn't really care so much about the statistics. However, I LOVE to cruise and travel in general and this usually requires some amount of flying. I just pop an anti-anxiety drug, order a glass of wine the second the beverage cart comes around (totally ignoring the fact that the aforementioned pill shouldn't be combined with alcohol :eek::p) and try to find something to occupy my mind until I can get my feet back on Terra firma :D

 

Melissa

Yeah I agree with you. I just will try to avoid flying over war ravaged areas for now. When its my time I know that is pre-determined by our Lord. I still love to travel....

Yeah I agree with you. I just will try to avoid flying over war ravaged areas for now. When its my time I know that is pre-determined by our Lord. I still love to travel....

If your time of death is pre-determined, then it won't matter what you do. I believe we have a lot to do with the time of our ultimate demise, including how we eat, how we eat in general, where we go, etc. I doubt many of us know the exact routes our flights will take and whether we'll go over someplace where someone might at some time have surface-to-air missiles, but most of us try to be cautious. Recent incidents have nothing to do with any trip I am considering in the foreseeable future. We plan to fly again in November, internationally.

If your time of death is pre-determined, then it won't matter what you do. I believe we have a lot to do with the time of our ultimate demise, including how we eat, how we eat in general, where we go, etc. I doubt many of us know the exact routes our flights will take and whether we'll go over someplace where someone might at some time have surface-to-air missiles, but most of us try to be cautious. Recent incidents have nothing to do with any trip I am considering in the foreseeable future. We plan to fly again in November, internationally.

I fly next week over a big, huge ocean and I wouldn't think of changing it because of any of these events (while there is still a lot to be determined, odds these latest two are not war-related in any way).

Is anyone afraid to fly now that we have 3 downed jets. I think I will not fly around the Africa area or Russia vicinity????

No, in fact there was a plane crash less than ten miles from my house this past weekend and I am still unfazed. The law of large numbers keeps the same narrow probability of my half dozen flights per year crashing, as compared to the likelihood of an auto accident with my driving 500 miles per week.

We were on an Avalon Felicity River boat cruise that ended in Amsterdam on July 13. We met many wonderful people including several Aussies. Two of those Aussies perished on the ML flight. There are no guarantees in life. Nobody could ever imagine what happened. We are going to enjoy life and take reasonable risks. The alternative is to lock yourself in your house and even then a freak accident can kill you.

I have just booked 2 international flights this week ( one for December and one for May). I love to travel and have been flying since I was five.

That said , I suffered from a fear of flying for about 5 years. A bad flight when I was alone going from Brazil to the US and what may have been a stall occurred ( I described the circumstances to some avid plane lovers and that was our conclusion). Whatever it was , it was very scary. My kids and hubby were at home. I was flying to be with father , who was going to have brain surgery. Beginning of my " trauma".

Then , some time after , my fear really got out of control with the Air France 447 crash....it happened exactly 3 weeks before I was going on the same route with my entire family on holiday. The accident happened on the same day I sprained my ankle and was bedridden. I watched the plane go from " disappeared " and everything that subsequently unrolled. I watched far too much of it on tv.

I became kind of obsessed by crashes and started watching tv programs on crashes like Mayday. i read everything on famous crashes. I became a sort of an expert on the subject. Then , strangely , all that information ended up being a comfort rather than frightening. I decided that no other industry protects its consumers as much as the airline industry.

In Brazil , almost 50,000 die a year in car crashes. Nobody does anything about it. Flying feels good again and that makes me so happy.

All that said , the M17 flight broke my heart. 80 children on board. Entire families going on holiday together . The grandfather flying with his 3 grandkids. The looting of the bodies. It is hard not to put yourself in the families' place.

I know the argument-many auto accidents don't result in death and most plane crashes do.

There's no real definition of an aircraft "crash". Would you use the technical definition of "accident"? Would you look only at accidents that damaged the aircraft beyond repair (ie hull losses)?

In the former case, you'd certainly find that most people walked out of most accidents.

Even in hull loss accidents, there are plenty that don't involve fatalities, and even when there are fatalities, there are often plenty of survivors. The Asiana accident at San Francisco was a case in point: only three fatalities, and two of them would probably have survived if they'd bothered to put their seat belts on.

I became kind of obsessed by crashes and started watching tv programs on crashes like Mayday. i read everything on famous crashes. I became a sort of an expert on the subject. Then , strangely , all that information ended up being a comfort rather than frightening. I decided that no other industry protects its consumers as much as the airline industry.

The alternative is to lock yourself in your house and even then a freak accident can kill you.

My DH lived in a town where 2 people got killed on the sofa in their living room drinking coffee.

A train derailed, ploughed through their house and hit them on the sofa.

If you fly from Australia to most European cities you are going to fly over some nasty territory. There are two choices: travel or stay at home.

My avi should tell you which I prefer :D

Probably, but as a general rule, I try to stay out of war zones, and that includes the airspace. I wouldn't drive a car in a war zone either, LOL.

You miss one of the biggest thrills of flying IMHO. You corkscrew into BIAP (Baghdad) to avoid anyone with shoulder held rpg's. It is really, really a thrill. Better than the E ticket at Disneyland.

Never did figure out why they don't do it at Bagram other than Bagram is so huge, the runways are basically in the middle and maybe the shoulder fired missles won't reach that far.

Zach, do you know why they fly straight in to Bagram? Kandahar is almost an E ticket ride but no corkscrew. Just a lot of back and forth, bank this way and that, in case someone on the ground wants to take a shot at the plane.

Is anyone afraid to fly now that we have 3 downed jets. I think I will not fly around the Africa area or Russia vicinity????

Were you actually planning in flying in these areas? If not, why even mention this?