Fear of Flying

[agoo758]

Ok. Probably COMPLETELY THE WRONG BOARD. But, I've always hated flying, and the events at Okie State only seem to reinforce it. As bad as I feel for the deaths, I feel a lot worse that those coaches had to go in a way as horrific as nosediving into the ground at high speeds, just as I feel worse the fact that gnute rockne was spiraling to the ground for a whole minute in sheer terror while the wings were falling off than the fact that he died. I hate flying, and I don't know how incidents like these don't deter others. :confusion:

[SicEmBaylor]

I've never been the least bit afraid of flying, but I'm also the most pessimistic person on the face of the planet. I always assume that absolute worst of any situation; therefore, when I fly I always assume that it's a foregone conclusion that it's going to crash and burn. When it doesn't it's all good.

[LASooner]

Stay out of the little planes and you should be OK for the most part.

[olevetonahill]

Ok. Probably COMPLETELY THE WRONG BOARD. But, I've always hated flying, and the events at Okie State only seem to reinforce it. As bad as I feel for the deaths, I feel a lot worse that those coaches had to go in a way as horrific as nosediving into the ground at high speeds, just as I feel worse the fact that gnute rockne was spiraling to the ground for a whole minute in sheer terror while the wings were falling off than the fact that he died. I hate flying, and I don't know how incidents like these don't deter others. :confusion:
Ive always hated being in a Car
So many people Die while driving
Has to be skeery watching a Head on coming at YOU

That happens a Hell of a Lot more than a small plane crash

[olevetonahill]

****
How many have died in ANY and All Plane crashes ? versus just the Car crashes in the USA ?

[nighttrain12]

I've always thought it was strange that we strap ourselves in a lot more in a car than in an airplane.

[olevetonahill]

I've always thought it was strange that we strap ourselves in a lot more in a car than in an airplane.

Never flown in a small plane have you ?

[Peach Fuzz]

Just remember, you have a 1 in 37 million chance to die in an airplane accident. Fear for your lives.

[Sooners78]

I don't like flying either. The thought of going down in a plane is terrifying to me. Every sound I hear and every turbulence I feel makes me think there is maybe something wrong with the plane, and I'm completely out of control of the situation. Also, it's not like the pilot can just pull over to the side of the road if something major goes wrong. I realize more people die in car crashes, but it's usually (not always) the fault of the driver, whether they're drunk, texting, sleepy, or just driving too fast. In a car, I'm usually the one driving, so I feel in control.

[agoo758]

Exactly, if the engines fail in a car, its an annoying inconvenience, if the engine on a plane fail, you're fighting for your life.

[ouwasp]

I don't like to fly at all haven't had to fly for about 20 yrs. My ears hurt like crazy during the descent. But the ironic thing: a few yrs ago I drove to Philly, about a 20 hr drive in two days... I developed a blood clot in my leg which could have very well killed me!

[delhalew]

I am not scared of flying...or anything else. True story.

[Penguin]

If it's not a DC-9 or bigger, I wouldn't fly in it. The regional carriers will try to tell you that prop jobs and regional jets are just as safe as the big jets, but they are completely lying. They have all of these skewed statistics and half-truths ready to show you how "safe" they are. I know it for a fact. I used to work for a regional airline. During our training, we were told what stats to site if we were ever asked about safety. Well, I was a dispatcher and I was privy to a lot of scary situations (maintenance and crew problems) that would never happen at the big airlines. I would never, ever fly on a regional carrier.

[BoulderSooner79]

I'm not comfortable riding in a car with an 82 year old driver and would not ride with a pilot that age. I have ridden in small planes, but wouldn't do it routinely.

[NCarolinaSooner]

And did I hear correctly that the plane--or at least the engine--- was built in 1964?

[Sooner_Tuf]

I wouldn't fly on anything in or out of Stillwater. Other than that I'll fly in anything with a engine of any kind.

NCarolinaSooner - Lots of planes are that old or older. Liability laws prohibit most people from buying a new plane. I frequently fly in a radial engine Cesna that was made in the 1930's. Other than you can't see straight ahead :onthego: I feel as safe in it as anything else. In fact I would rather fly in a properly maintained small plane than a commercial airliner.

[cherokeebrewer]

I've logged many hours flying small planes, never really worried about it. There are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots.

[oumartin]

I think the whole thing in the car vs plane is typically in a car wreck it's a split second. In a plane crash there is a good chance you are gonna getta think about it for at least a few seconds before your world comes to an end. Plus thats along way to fall.

Getting trapped under a gas truck... that would be the worst!

[pphilfran]

I have flown slightly over a half million miles...add in a couple of fly in fishing trips in an Otter...hell, I am lucky to be alive...

[StoopTroup]

And did I hear correctly that the plane--or at least the engine--- was built in 1964?


Have you ever rebuilt either type of these engines? You know....a car engine vs an aircraft? A 2 stroke vs a four-stroke? A Diesel vs a Gas Engine?


I think some folks fears are valid. Especially the ones that have Control issues. If you are scared to fly because you tried it and didn't like it...you probably shouldn't fly. I can see why you'd hate it.

If you are just a person that buys your Ticket and doesn't trust Statistics and it's a Control issue....you probably just have issues that need resolving.

If you have lost a bunch of Family over the years do to Aircraft Accidents...then again....there are probably some issues that need to be addressed.

If you have never flown and faced your fears....there are folks who can help you with those issues.

If you are a bit claustrophobic and don't like tight spaces....I'd rather you not get in the plane with me.

If you like the idea of being a bit different than other people and like trying to figure out how so many others have conquered the fear of flying and have figured out how to get around from small airport to small airport all over America...you have probably had life experiences that many others in America have not. You are very lucky IMO as many folks would love to be able to take part in Aviation but the Government has made it nearly impossible unless you are very well off.

They don't like the idea of any of us being smart enough to learn to fly. It's not that big a deal but it is something you need to be trained to do. If you aren't Trained and you want to try it without any formal Training.....I don't want to get in an airplane with you. I will cut the cord on the lawn chair you hooked all those helium Balloons to and make sure your BB gun you are gonna use to control your decent with works and is accurate. I would appreciate it if you would allow me to duct tape a video camera to the top of your crash helmet.

[cccasooner2]

Air turbulance in Alaska once took me on a downward spiral from about 12,000 feet to less than 200 before the pilot pulled out. Whew, no one even sh*t in my pants.

[StoopTroup]

Air turbulance in Alaska once took me on a downward spiral from about 12,000 feet to less than 200 before the pilot pulled out. Whew, no one even sh*t in my pants.


Did it make you feel alive? lol

[cccasooner2]

Did it make you feel alive? lol

Yes, it was better than Magic Mountain. lol

[mdklatt]

I realize more people die in car crashes, but it's usually (not always) the fault of the driver, whether they're drunk, texting, sleepy, or just driving too fast.

Almost all plane crashes are due to pilot error.


In a car, I'm usually the one driving, so I feel in control.

This is the root of fear of flying for most people, the lack of control. Of course, you can't control other drivers.

[Peach Fuzz]

Kind of why I always wear a seat-belt. I trust myself, I don't trust your daughter on her phone in the other lane.

[StoopTroup]

Yes, it was better than Magic Mountain. lol

I've been in a small Plane and intentionally sat in the Co-pilot Seat while a Friend did some Stalls and flat spins over the lake.

Those get your heart pumping but the time I flew in to Baltimore on TWA in 1984 and the Pilot did a touch and go and didn't say why....it was pretty damn quiet on that plane. It was later said there was an air incident.

I hate those.

[yermom]

I just don't trust those little Buddy Holly planes

[Peach Fuzz]

Hovering over the Pacific waiting for weather to clear up at LAX after the pilot informs you the 'low fuel light' has come on wasn't my favorite time flying. That always happens for me going from LAX to Denver for some reason.

[agoo758]

I flew to Vegas back in January, and I remember being terrified for a whole month leading up to the flights. I felt like a murderer on death row. When I got back from Lafayette, I decided to try to educate myself by learning about every possible air disaster in the last 20 years. It actually made me a little better, but incidents like the other day just renew my fear, even though it wasn't on a commercial airliner.

[StoopTroup]

I flew to Vegas back in January, and I remember being terrified for a whole month leading up to the flights. I felt like a murderer on death row. When I got back from Lafayette, I decided to try to educate myself by learning about every possible air disaster in the last 20 years. It actually made me a little better, but incidents like the other day just renew my fear, even though it wasn't on a commercial airliner.

You know...I think we all would like to know what the hell happened to the Folks in that plane the other day. If there is anything that I think scares folks or even is hard for Families to understand is WTH happened. Small Aircraft leave us with many more questions than Commercial Aircraft. Of course that's why there are so many more regulations for Mass Transports than small Aircraft.

More regulation would only put a death Blow in General Aviation's Heart IMHO.

I think the fact that the Folks who were Flying were in their 80's is a testament to just how long they had helped many folks get around our Country. They helped a lot of people by flying them for free when other options would have cost the ill tons of money they didn't have to spend. They were very loyal to oSu and from the sound of the Stories I'm reading...losing them was as huge a loss as losing the Coach and the assistant....not that you can compare such a loss.

At the end of this hopefully investigators will be able to tell us all WTH happened and Air Directives can be issued to folks who own such Aircraft to have them checked for whatever they hopefully find. If it is merely "Pilot Error", then we will all have to live with the fact that we might not ever know what happened which seems to be what scares the heck out of most people.

[agoo758]

The problem with planes these small is that they arn't required by the FAA to have Black Boxes on the plane, therefore making it that much more difficult for the NTSB to determine what happened and what the pilots were thinking before the crash, although I don't know if this particular aircraft had such devices.

[StoopTroup]

I'd venture a guess that it doesn't. As an owner of such a plane....why would you put one in it if you knew that if you made a mistake...you wouldn't be around to find out how it came out.

I guess that if Schools wanted to make a rule that their Coaches and or players couldn't travel on any aircraft that wasn't equipped with certain devices that they would be breaking School Rules and their Contract which could lead to them being fired/dismissed.

Thing is...how will many of these Coaches get to so many of the small towns to see kids play and do the recruiting they need to do?

The answer doesn't lie in a Black Box.

[C&CDean]

Some folks just have irrational fears. Hell, PG fears spiders, and I know a bunch of you on here fear snakes. Fear of flying is as irrational as any phobia. I've logged over 2-million miles on a single airline, and well over a million more on various other ones. My dad was a pilot, and my brother still is. My brother-in-law flew for 25 years in the Air Force. I have hundreds, if not thousands of hours in single engine airplanes. I've been in them when the engine stalls, in storms, in fog, and all kinds of other dicey situations. Yeah, your sphincter tightens up, but I've never thought "dang, I ain't gonna fly cause it scares me or because I had a rough landing the other day."

Close me up in a closet or car trunk and it's a whole other story. Pin my arms to my side or put me somewhere where I can't move, and I will kill you if I possibly can. Irrational? Probably.

[C&CDean]

Oh yeah, a black box doesn't make the plane any safer. Also, they can download and find out a lot of post-crash info from the GPS's small planes are required to utilize these days.

[Peach Fuzz]

Being a crash investigator might be a pretty tough job. Having to hear peoples screams and frantic yells would be a lot to bear. The blackbox from the Challenger disaster comes to mind, those astronauts didn't die when the boosters exploded. They actually drowned.

[StoopTroup]

Some folks just have irrational fears. Hell, PG fears spiders, and I know a bunch of you on here fear snakes. Fear of flying is as irrational as any phobia. I've logged over 2-million miles on a single airline, and well over a million more on various other ones. My dad was a pilot, and my brother still is. My brother-in-law flew for 25 years in the Air Force. I have hundreds, if not thousands of hours in single engine airplanes. I've been in them when the engine stalls, in storms, in fog, and all kinds of other dicey situations. Yeah, your sphincter tightens up, but I've never thought "dang, I ain't gonna fly cause it scares me or because I had a rough landing the other day."

Close me up in a closet or car trunk and it's a whole other story. Pin my arms to my side or put me somewhere where I can't move, and I will kill you if I possibly can. Irrational? Probably.

What about like locking you in a port a toilet? :D ;)

[TXBOOMER]

Aint Skeered!

[agoo758]

Oh yeah, a black box doesn't make the plane any safer. Also, they can download and find out a lot of post-crash info from the GPS's small planes are required to utilize these days.

No one said it makes the plane any safer, but it sure helps a crash investigation to know more less what a plane was doing before it crashed, just like when they finally found that equipment from Air France 447. They found out more about what happened in the subsequent month than they did the previous two years.

[fadada1]

as i've gotten older, i enjoy flying less and less. the past few times i've gulped down one of my wife's percosets - definitely helps take the edge off. i'd drink, but from the time i sit down, to the time we hit 10K feet to go pee, my bladder would burst.

i agree, i think it becomes a control issue, especially as we get older. if i had my way, i'd want an ex-military pilot. those guys have every contingency plan at the ready. we flew out to OK for the a&m game - our flight from st. louis to philly had (in my opinion) and ex-military pilot. if you've ever spent any time around a military pilot, the have a "look" and "way" about them that exudes confidence. i felt very safe.

[Flagstaffsooner]

I was on a C-130 with an engine fire, no prob.

[BoulderSooner79]

as i've gotten older, i enjoy flying less and less...

Rationally, I'd think it would be the other way around. The older you get, the less remaining life span you put at risk. If I make it to 90, I might just say WTF and try wing walking.

[SoonerObsession]

Although I absolutely love to fly, I can totally understand your fears. I'm glued to the window the whole time because I marvel at this amazing earth we call home. The second we start getting turbulence and I can feel the plane drop, it's a very uncomfortable feeling.

[Jacie]

People have a tendency to fear things unlikely to happen while ignoring things that are more likely to happen. It is human nature.