A Fear of Flying
A series of plane disappearances and crashes such as the recent air France Flight 447 and the Hudson River Crash, in January, have raised new concerns about airplane safety and leave little hope for Aerophobics in search of a cure. However, despite the fact that aviation has undeniably experienced accidents and fatalities, recent news suggests that flying is still “safer than ever”. It is not merely an old wives tale that flying is one of the safest ways to travel but statistics show that, despite some passengers’ apprehension, flying is actually safer than, for example, driving… or is it?
A recent article by the New York Observer suggests that, based on evidence from the year 1995, if we measure the number of deaths per passenger hours travelled, rather than distance travelled, then the statistics are fairly similar for Plane and Car fatalities. In cars, one person died per 5.5 million passenger hours travelled, versus one death per 6 million passenger hours in commercial airline flights “a slim difference at best!’ suggests the Observer.
However, these statistics are based upon the number of airplane crashes as a percent, whilst the survival rate for a plane crash might be a lot lower, planes simply do not crash as much as cars therefore more people do actually die from car accidents each year. In the years 1988-2007 roughly 2000 people died in plane crashes in commercial U.S planes, which averages about 100 deaths per year; a lot less than the number of car fatalities.
Some statistics focus on the number of deaths per departure or trip, which then makes driving look safer than flying because trips that we take in a car are usually shorter than those that we take in planes. However, the idea of a plane is to make it more convenient to travel longer distances, so surely we should only compare the longer car journeys statistics with that of plane flights? So if the fatalities from driving are fairly comparable to those of flying then why do we not hear more about a similar phobia of driving or riding in cars?
Driving Phobia does actually exist but we hear very little about it, certainly not as much as we hear about Aerophobia or the fear of flying. This is simply because, driving is much more a common practice than flying, we are more surrounded by it in everyday life. As Bradley Doucet suggests, “we’ve all heard the slogan, ‘if it bleeds, it leads’”.
Unfortunately bad news, particularly catastrophically bad news is more likely to make it onto the front page, partly because it is more spectacular and partly because it is much less common than say, a car crash.
This is another reason for Aerophobia; we hear about the plane crashes, but not about the 1000’s of safe flights that happen everyday. Due to the way the media works we hear much more about the crises and less about the positive. This leads to what is called an ‘inverted heirarchy of fear’ in which we worry more about being in a plane crash (very rare) than about dying in a car crash (less rare) and we hardly worry at all about dying of heart disease (very common).
Working out whether flying is safer than driving is actually a very complicated procedure but we do know that flying is still very safe. So, what actually is Aerophobia and why do people suffer from it?
Aerophobia is a condition in which the individual experiences anxiety when faced with the idea of boarding an Aeroplane or leaving the ground and being surrounded by open air and brisk winds. In fact, fear of flying can have little to with the risk of death involved, as if this were the case, then surely, many more people would also experience the same type of anxiety when driving or riding in a car?
In fact, Aerophobia can have more to do with the uncomfortable awareness of the fragility and vulnerability of life itself or an ancillary condition to other phobias such as; a fear of heights, confined spaces, lack of control or lack of trust, knowledge and familiarity of the place and situation. When flying we put ourselves in a vulnerable position, a position where our own mortality is made more apparent and one in which we have less control.
Some psychologists suggest that fear of flying may actually have nothing to do with flying itself but that it could in fact be the stresses of everyday life manifested in the form of Aerohobia, for example if someone was about to take a long flight Aerophobia could exist as an excuse for other problems in their life. However, in spite of the numerous reasons for Aerophobia we can learn to be psychologically in control of them.
There are several different methods that can be used to address Aerophobia such as cognitive coping strategies which involve expanding your awareness beyond the unpleasant situation, reminding yourself that you are doing the best you can and that progress takes time, give yourself credit for your own good sense or directly acknowledging the fear and challenging it.
Other treatments include: progressive muscle relaxation and autogenics; which allow you to relax and try to change negative thinking patterns, systematic desensitization and psychological help, spiritual healing; which is helpful if your fear is based on an existential fear of death or simply learning more about the principles of flying and how airplanes work.
Finally, it is important that the fear of flying is addressed for personal reasons and comfort but also because ‘the more people that fly instead of driving, the more lives will be saved’ as Doucet suggets. In the year following September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, quite understandably, the fear of flying dramatically increased and many Americans changed their mode of travel from plane to car, the direct result of which was over 1500 extra fatalities, which is as many that would normally die flying over 15 years!
As Secor Browne, former chairman of the Civil Aeronatics Board suggested, aviation is “the safest mode of transportation…if you’re afraid to fly, then you better not take a bath, and God forbid, don’t get in your car.”
About the author
Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Airport Parking and .Tags: aerophobia, airport parking, fear of flying, Gatwick, Gatwick parking