Is it me?
Or have there been a ton of plane crashes lately?
Yeah...I’m heavily considering never stepping on a plane again.
Hey folks, Laci Green here for DNews.
There was MH370, MH17, TransAsia 222, and Air Algerie flight 5017...it’s all so tragic,
and my god it’s SO.
MANY.
FLIGHTS.
DOWN!
What the heck is going on?
Despite all of these closely occurring crashes lately, officials from the Atmosphere Research
Group and Flight Safety Foundation both say that air travel remains EXTREMELY SAFE.
And I do mean extremely.
Air travel is safer than it’s ever been, so safe that the experts say that being on
a plane is probably the safest part of your day.
There’s a 1 in 11 MILLION chance that you will die in a plane crash - a chance so small
that it’s more likely you’ll die in the airport itself.
Nearly 96% of those who are in a plane crash survive.
But you know what’s WAYYYYY more fatal?
Driving in a freaking car.
CARS ARE DEATH MACHINES.
You have a 1 in 5000 CHANCE OF BEING KILLED IN A CAR.
That’s right - we should really fear the ride to the airport more than the flight itself.
Still, fears about flying in planes is widespread.
6% of people refuse to get on a plane outright because they’re so paralyzed with fear - a
condition called aviophobia.
But up to 40% of people say they experience some anxiety when they’re on a plane.
What’s at the heart of this widespread fear?
One is the psychological effect of HEARING about every plane crash.
They’re so rare that when they do happen, word spreads around the world.
If we heard about every single fatal car crash IN THE WORLD, you bet your bottom people would
be much more terrified of cars.
But moreso than the high visibility of plane crashes is the fact that flying reminds us
how little control we have over life and death.
Being behind the wheel of the car provides a greater ILLUSION of control -- but in neither
situation are you completely in control of your own destiny.
For many, flying provides varying degrees of confrontation with our own vulnerability
and the true fragility of life.
Fear of flying can also be exacerbated by other elements of the experience: being in
small spaces, feeling crowded, processing lots of strange noises, doing a lot of waiting,
or not understanding the mechanics of how the thing actually flies.
Every single time I’m on a plane I’m in awe of how they work….but simple lack of
understanding about flight basics can make things like turbulence go from harmless side
effect to full blown panic attack.
If you have a little anxiety while flying, or if your fear is stoked by hearing about
crashes, it might help to read up about how safe flying actually is and how it works.
I fly a lot and learning a bit about it has definitely helped me out.
Thanks for joining me for DNews, are you scared of flying?
Let me know down below and I’ll catch you next time.