# Why some people are afraid to fly. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 2, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007 "2011-09-02T22:40:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/1 "2011-09-02T22:40:35Z")
[Repressed childhood memories](http://www.flickr.com/photos/48378917@N04/4464388844/). Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/2 "2011-09-03T00:37:37Z")
…except for this recurring dream of me popping out of an eggshell of a fiery aircraft and running like hell to safety. Academically I know the end would come swiftly with no chance of survival. An plane ride is a crap shoot of many chances all at once yet still safer than driving. I stay home more than ever, hoping nothing falls through the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/3 "2011-09-03T00:42:43Z")
My uncle was a navigator for a cargo airline and died in a plane crash in the 1960s. My father, who used to fly before that, never flew again. I remember he even took the bus from Texas to California and back for the funeral. All of his other siblings still flew after that, but not my father. That ended it for him. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/4 "2011-09-03T02:47:25Z")
My husband works for the FAA. He won’t fly unless it’s nearly impossible to get from here to there otherwise…because he knows exactly how many screwups go on in the FAA. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/5 "2011-09-03T02:52:39Z")
I think mostly people are afraid of crashing rather than flying, right? If you could guarantee a safe flight there’d be no fear. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/6 "2011-09-03T03:09:52Z")
I don’t understand the OP. What’s with the picture of a cookie in the shape of a plane? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/7 "2011-09-03T03:17:22Z")
My father is terrified of flying. For him I think it’s mainly the loss of control. He understands the statistics and all, but that doesn’t do anything to make him feel better. Ironic that I’d become a professional pilot, eh? Maybe I was adopted… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/8 "2011-09-03T03:19:44Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > Ironic that I’d become a professional pilot, eh? Maybe I was adopted… Do you ever say to your passenger, ‘You know? I could kill us _both_ right now.’ ? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/9 "2011-09-03T03:23:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Do you ever say to your passenger, ‘You know? I could kill us _both_ right now.’ ? My standard line for passengers after the serious safety briefing is, “If anything should happen up there, don’t hesitate. Wake me up immediately!” But I just got my first jet job, so I’m going to have to dial it down a notch. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/10 "2011-09-03T03:24:37Z")
I’m _so_ going to steal that! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/11 "2011-09-03T03:26:44Z")
[What came to my mind.](http://www.ericajong.com/flying.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/12 "2011-09-03T03:27:42Z")
Today our in-flight movie is [Fearless.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106881/) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/13 "2011-09-03T03:57:16Z")
> [@](#): > > My father is terrified of flying. For him I think it’s mainly the loss of control. He understands the statistics and all, but that doesn’t do anything to make him feel better. > > Ironic that I’d become a professional pilot, eh? Maybe I was adopted… I don’t see any irony at all. He doesn’t like the loss of control, and so doesn’t fly. You, cut from the same cloth, take it even further: You don’t like the loss of control, so you _take_ control. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/14 "2011-09-03T04:09:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t see any irony at all. He doesn’t like the loss of control, and so doesn’t fly. You, cut from the same cloth, take it even further: You don’t like the loss of control, so you _take_ control. I’ve thought of that, but I loved flying long before I ever became a pilot. Or even thought of becoming a pilot. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/15 "2011-09-03T04:18:49Z")
Mine comes from lack of control. It’s a theme in my life, apparently. I do much better on corporate jets, where I can see in to the cockpit, or Cessna’s, then on commercial flights where I’m one of many and I don’t know what’s going on. I have done research on commercial flights and have a good understanding of what’s going on and when, which eases my fear of sounds and what’s going on in the flight. The worst for me is turbulence. I enjoy landing especially (yay, we’re on the ground!) and I do like take off. It’s what’s in between that’s the worst for me. I do it all the time, however. I fly for work at least once a month, and I travel for vacation a few times a year. It seems like the more often I do it, the easier it is. If I have a month or two with no flying, the next flight is a bit tougher. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/16 "2011-09-03T04:19:14Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > I think mostly people are afraid of crashing rather than flying, right? If you could guarantee a safe flight there’d be no fear. Most people I’ve spoken to say their fear comes from contemplating the fact that there is nothing beneath them, that they’re suspended in mid-air, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/17 "2011-09-03T04:21:37Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > Most people I’ve spoken to say their fear comes from contemplating the fact that there is nothing beneath them, that they’re suspended in mid-air, as it were. This is a big one, but I think for me it’s the fear of the in between. From the realization that we’re going to crash to the impact, that’s what scares me. That time. I’d rather have a mid-air collision where I don’t see it coming then have a terrifying minute or two of impending doom. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/18 "2011-09-03T04:27:12Z")
I have no fear of flying, but I hate commercial flights. The worst part: “Deplane” …nails on the chalkboard. Deplane is what Herve Vilchez said at the start of every episode of “Fantasy Island”. Disembark is the word you are seeking…even the German stews on Lufthansa can manage it in their second language. Which is only one reason to appreciate them more than you ill-tempered hags. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/19 "2011-09-03T04:28:43Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > Most people I’ve spoken to say their fear comes from contemplating the fact that there is nothing beneath them, that they’re suspended in mid-air, as it were. I live close to an airport and every single time I see an airplane coming in for a landing I look at it and think “That’s not right, that shouldn’t be able to happen” There’s something surreal about an object that heavy moving horizontally gracefully through the air and not just falling back to the earth. And by the time I see them they can’t be more then 100 feet or so off the ground and they _appear_ to be going about 4 miles per hour…it’s very strange. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I’m not. It’s still very cool every time. I’ve always said I’d miss not living near the airport…moreso now that I don’t live under a flight path. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007/20 "2011-09-03T04:38:44Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I don’t understand the OP. What’s with the picture of a cookie in the shape of a plane? Maybe it’s the same reason they don’t let me into [zoos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stauffer%27s_animal_crackers.JPG)–and not withing a mile of them if I have an active glass of milk. . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-some-people-are-afraid-to-fly/595007.md?page=2)