My Guide To Flying (Flying in general)

Member Name: DocDan3

Product:	Flying in general
Date:	15/08/09 (54 review reads)
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A lot of people are scared of flying for one reason or another. You may be scared of heights or you just may be scared of any accident happening whilst flying. Like all people, I have always been concerned about flying in relation to its safety. Flying is perfectly safe - it's the safest method of travel and if you think that there are thousands of flights everyday and compare it to when you hear about a major accident, the ratio is tiny.

There are car accidents everyday - you don't hear about them always as they only involve a few people. They are very common and you probably get hundreds around the world everyday. My thought is that you're more likely to be in a dangerous accident in a car on the way to the airport rather than in the plane after you get to the airport. So you should be scared about the car journey there - not the plane journey!

Planes are very safe vehicles as they have great technology nowadays to avoid crash collision courses and there is always air traffic control guiding planes as well as emergency situation plans in place. All pilots have gone through training to deal with all kinds of emergencies if any were to happen. The planes are perfectly safe but you do get the odd technical fault.

I was once scared after a plane delay when they said the plane had a small technical fault. It makes you think and worry, as no one likes flying that much. They said it was to do with the air-conditioning. Once I got on the plane and found this out, I laughed at how I was worried but then I thought 'what if that was a lie just to hide it..?' as I wouldn't be surprised because they don't want to worry anyone. The flight was totally normal and quite smooth in the end.

It's more the pilots that are a risk as they are in control of the planes. This is why I wouldn't recommend flying with airlines such as Kenyan Airways and other ones that more frequently have bad accidents - it's not worth it. If you stick to airlines such as British Airways, Virgin, Easyjet, American Airlines and all other major ones, you'll be fine as they have the best pilots.

One thing to be more worried about are terrorists! After the awful 9/11 attacks, I have always thought of something. If there's ever an attack on a plane somehow, ALL the passengers should immediately act against the terrorists BEFORE things get out of hand as you never know what's going to happen. This would surprise the terrorists back and I believe it would be successful - so if you are reading, please acknowledge this. However, it's almost impossible for terrorists to get any dangerous equipment onto flights, but they still managed paper knives and explosives on the 9/11 attacks. With the cut down on liquids now, it's almost impossible for dangerous things to be taken on board.

On the subject of turbulence too, you shouldn't be worried. Turbulence is the mere changes in pressure outside the aircraft, which is usually worse around stormy weather and in certain climates such as near the Caribbean. In relation to space, the aircraft is barely moving whatsoever, despite what it feels like. Aircrafts are built to withstand enormous amounts of pressure on the wings and so on, so don't be scared that they will suddenly snap off. Wings may appear to be moving up and down, but they are just adjusting to the weather outside, which is totally normal and that is why they're built the way they are.

The only thing I dislike about flying is the turbulence and when it's continuous to the extent it makes you sick. My best recommendations for this is to always have anti-sickness tablets on you when flying and try to take your mind off turbulence. Try to relax and not think about it - read a book, watch the TV or play a game or listen to music. Turbulence never usually lasts longer than half an hour maximum, but it can be a long bumpy flight sometimes, as pilots can't fly half way around the world to avoid a few bumps. The other thing is that pilots do actually fly tactically - around turbulence and bad areas. They have a map, which shows in red the worst areas to fly and they will avoid these, even if their flight plan usually would fly through it - they will contact the ground and find a safe way round it.

One thing I find amazing when flying is how near other aircrafts appear to be. Even flying across Europe, it's not uncommon nowadays that you may see another plane flying parallel to you or away from you. It's quite scary but the pilots do have maps showing nearby air traffic too and a mid-air collision is extremely unlikely with new methods to prevent it such as anti crash collision courses. This is where the computer will say to one pilot to descent and to the other pilot to ascend. The pilot totally ignores air traffic control at this point and they listen to the computers, which makes sure the planes go in opposite directions if on a crash collision course.

I hope I have helped to explain some of the concerns with flying in planes. It's a perfectly safe way of traveling and just remember - you're so much more likely to die on the way to the airport! What a lovely way of putting it eh? Flying is actually an enjoyable experience and every time those engines roar up on the end of the runway, I get a satisfying adrenaline and sense of power, which runs through my body.

Thanks for reading,

Dan ©

Summary: The safest way of traveling and one that you can enjoy