Flying

[7499275]

hey guys! so I just watched an episode in a TV series where it was focused on a plane crash. I've never flown before but at the end of the month will be my first time flying...

I am just slightly terrified, anyone else terrified of first time flying? I don't really have much of a choice on not going but yeah... just really worried now about crap going wrong. I realize you have a better chance of being in a car wreck than a plane crash but there are a lot of messed up people in this world.

[TheCanadianVendingMachine]

Listen, unless if you are flying out of Syria, you are safe. No chance of a crash.

Lift off is an experience, you will feel as if you are falling. And you will be pushed into a seat. Ear popping is annoying, and when you get above 10, 000 feet it will happen. Landing, another experience. You feel as if you are falling, which you are. Banking is another weird feeling.

This link will show you how many aircraft are above the USA, what are the chances YOUR PLANE will be in trouble?

[Dodgey]

You have a higher probability of dying from the trip to the airport than you do from the fight.

[Aethon]

Agreed. It's MUCH more dangerous to ride in a car than fly. I flew solo for the first time when I was 16 and have been scared a few times in an aircraft, but driving a car is much scarier to me.

[razark]

Make sure you get a window seat. Bonus points if it's towards the rear edge on slightly behind the wing where you can see the control surfaces move.

[TheDataMiner]

hey guys! so I just watched an episode in a TV series where it was focused on a plane crash.

Was it LOST? 'Cuz that show is AMAZING!

[Special Agent Sigvan]

You have a higher probability of dying from the trip to the airport than you do from the fight.

Comforting.

Yeah you'll probably be fine, unless you're extremely unlucky.

EXTREMELY.

[KerbMav]

Last month - it was my seventh trip (there and back again) by plane - was the first flight for me I considered taking a nap an option instead of flying the plane myself with my mind, leaving the job to the two pilots alone.

Relax, enjoy the ride, engage in some activity to distract you from your anxiety (and the relative boredom of long flights).

[Red Iron Crown]

Flying commercial is incredibly safe, your odds of being involved in an incident are astronomical.

Flying privately is a different matter, the accident rates are much, much higher.

[jmiki8]

I flew a couple of times, and I really love it! You shouldn't be afraid of it. It's just the media which "enlarges" the possible dangers of flight. Aircraft crashes are very-very unlikely, that's why they are highlighted in the news/films if they happen. Car crashes happen like on daily basis, that's why they don't catch the news agencies'/movie makers' mind. The least satisfying thing you could encounter during a journey is the boredom, if the flight is way too long.

[Godot]

Actually even if a worst case scenario happens, it is sometimes incredible how a good pilot still can save a lot of passengers.

For example in the famous case of UA 232 (an MD-10). Due to an explosion in the 3rd engine(in the tail) all 3 hydraulic systems of the plane had their pipes severed and lost pressure, which meant, that the pilots were unable to move even a single of the control surfaces of the plane (with other words, from then on they were unable to steer the plane via normal means).

even more fatally, just before the hydraulic presure was lost, the pilots had initiated a right turn, meaning that the ailerions remained locked into this position when control over the control surfaces was lost.

But in a masterpiece of pilot skills (and with help of a flight instructor who was on board the plane) they still managed to stabilize and steer the plane with help of the remaining 2 engines alone (by selectively increasing and/or decreasing the throttle for both engines independently) and land the plane on a nearby airport (saving the lives of over 60% of the passengers)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232

http://www.airdisaster.com/special/special-ua232.shtml

As for flying itself:

Yes, it definitely is fun ... I´d care more about not having a full bladder during embarcation (the plane might take some time to taxi to the runway, especially if it is a busy airport with only 1 or 2 runways ... meaning that it you will have to endure your full bladder for some time, till you have finally reached cruise altitude) than about accidents that might happen.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Godot

[Red Iron Crown]

For every story of a great pilot saving the passengers there are three or more about how pilot error caused the problem in the first place. Removing pilots from the equation would be a net win for flight safety.

[Xorth Tanovar]

For every story of a great pilot saving the passengers there are three or more about how pilot error caused the problem in the first place. Removing pilots from the equation would be a net win for flight safety.

...until the first inflight BSOD...

[Dartguy]

For every story of a great pilot saving the passengers there are three or more about how pilot error caused the problem in the first place. Removing pilots from the equation would be a net win for flight safety.

I would never fly again.

[Godot]

...until the first inflight BSOD...

Or the first hack of the flight computer in order to remotely hijack the machine or pilot it into buildings

[Javster]

I would never fly again.

My flight instructor says that planes fly themselves, and that most crashes are caused by pilots who want to press buttons but aren't allowed (seriously, most crashes are pilot error, not physical failure)

[Dartguy]

My flight instructor says that planes fly themselves, and that most crashes are caused by pilots who want to press buttons but aren't allowed (seriously, most crashes are pilot error, not physical failure)

I agree with that. And I would not have any problem flying with a computer system at the helm.....as long as there are 2 human beings that are capable of taking over if there is a problem in the cockpit, and most of all that their lives are on the line just like all the passengers' lives.

BTW: most airliners in flight today have systems that can land for them.

[Red Iron Crown]

And I would not have any problem flying with a computer system at the helm.....as long as there are 2 human beings that are capable of taking over if there is a problem in the cockpit, and most of all that their lives are on the line just like all the passengers' lives.

Statistically speaking, the two human beings are more likely to be the problem in the cockpit.

[KvickFlygarn87]

I flew a couple of times, and I really love it! You shouldn't be afraid of it. It's just the media which "enlarges" the possible dangers of flight. Aircraft crashes are very-very unlikely, that's why they are highlighted in the news/films if they happen. Car crashes happen like on daily basis, that's why they don't catch the news agencies'/movie makers' mind. The least satisfying thing you could encounter during a journey is the boredom, if the flight is way too long.

Meh. I flew to Thailand this winter; they had a game console embedded into the seat in front of me. I was the on-board master of the pacman ripoff game they had

[Godot]

Meh. I flew to Thailand this winter; they had a game console embedded into the seat in front of me. I was the on-board master of the pacman ripoff game they had

I hope you didn´t push the wrong buttons while playing Pacman

[Special Agent Sigvan]

Statistically speaking, the two human beings are more likely to be the problem in the cockpit.

That fact amuses me greatly.

[Camacha]

I am just slightly terrified, anyone else terrified of first time flying? I don't really have much of a choice on not going but yeah... just really worried now about crap going wrong. I realize you have a better chance of being in a car wreck than a plane crash

No ifs, ands or buts. Flying commercially is one of the safest things you can do. Even being at home is more dangerous and you are not scared of that, right?

In case of some shaking or other things that make you feel things might be going wrong: aircraft are incredibly strong and can take a whole lot of abuse. Even when the wing tips are not visible from the windows any more, the thing is operating within safe limits. Even when both pilots die instantly and all engines fail, which never happens, the thing is built to fly on and not immediately crash.

Seriously, if you want to grow old you would best live in an airliner.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Camacha

[Sun]

Listen, unless if you are flying out of Syria, you are safe. No chance of a crash.

Lift off is an experience, you will feel as if you are falling. And you will be pushed into a seat. Ear popping is annoying, and when you get above 10, 000 feet it will happen. Landing, another experience. You feel as if you are falling, which you are. Banking is another weird feeling.

This link will show you how many aircraft are above the USA, what are the chances YOUR PLANE will be in trouble?

Using that, I found a 747 flying just south of my house!

[NovaSilisko]

I love flying. Especially when the plane's jostling around a bit, turning, landing, etc. Even more so if the flaps/ailerons are visible. It's cool seeing the machine do its job despite the rough conditions that often make up the upper atmosphere. Get used to the idea of the wings wiggling, though, they're very flexible and do that a lot.

[Astronut]

7499275, you will be just fine. The worst part of the experience will be getting through the security screening. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. I fly for a living on the business aviation side.

I'm sure that there a number of other pilots here who can chime in too.