View Full Version : 737-800. Safe these days?
bluesboy
1st Jun 2001, 21:37
I'm no pilot but I am scared sh*tless of flying. I don't mind the Airbus planes too much but the old Boeings give me the sh*ts. Flying to Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) from Manchester, UK this month. Dreading it. Our airline is Futura International...yes, the one that likes to snap the front wheels off its 737's!!! Any advice to calm our nerves would be most appreciated.
The most dangerous thing about flying is the food.
I have been an airine pilot since 1987 and the only harm I have received was Cholera from a crew meal in the summer in 1998 from Manchester.
The second most dangerous thing is your fellow passengers, having had one break into the cockpit and another one assault a flight attendant.
Mechanical problems with the aircraft (I fly being and Airbus) just don't happen.
Wear your seatbelt and enjoy yourself.
Cheers
Wino
Jim lovell
2nd Jun 2001, 16:56
if you're going on a 737-800 then you got nothing to worry about. It's a brand new airplane. Mechanical failures occur very rarely in real life so sit back and enjoy the ride!
Joaquín
3rd Jun 2001, 04:36
Being a personal friend of one B 737-800 senior captain of Futura, and having enjoyed several trips in the jump seat, I can only praise both the proffesionalism of the whole crew and the plane itself.
On the age issue, I'm quite sure Futura bought the 800s brand new not more than 2 years ago.
Fly Safely :)
[This message has been edited by Joaqu'n (edited 03 June 2001).]
tech...again
3rd Jun 2001, 16:02
...and I have to say that the incident at SNN back in November 2000 where the nosewheel 'went missing' happened in exceptional circumstances (severe wind) and the crew seem to have done very well in dealing with it - I was on the aircraft directly ahead.
As the others say, just sit back and enjoy the ride...!
TA
Nick Figaretto
3rd Jun 2001, 21:44
I don't know if statistics helps you anything at all in coping with your fear of flying, but do you know what they say?
-More people die each year from heart attacks in airplanes than from airplane accidents.
- And that is just because they happen to be on board an aeroplane at the time of the heart attack, and not because you're more likely to get a heart attack while flying than while on the ground.
That's what they say. No documentation. It's just what they say.
Nick.
------------------
"I have found that alcohol taken in sufficient quantity produces all the effects of drunkenness."
~ Oscar Wilde
bluesboy
4th Jun 2001, 22:09
I must say in all honesty that all your helpful replies have made a real difference to the way we both feel about flying. I really mean that. To be honest, I am actually looking forward to it now in a way and we genuinely appreciate all your comments. Oh....Wino....I hope your piloting skills are superior to your spelling skills!
Best regards to all!
Hung start
5th Jun 2001, 03:13
Bluesboy,
Shows that you are new here. Lighten up, no spelling police needed around here. Say thanks to Wino for him taking his time to answer ya´!
Have a great flight.
Dammit, edited for spelling....twice :)
[This message has been edited by Hung start (edited 04 June 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Hung start (edited 04 June 2001).]
radeng
5th Jun 2001, 10:46
bluesboy,
I'm no pilot either. But I've done very nearly a million miles as a passenger. From my experience, the most dangerous part is the motorway to and from the airport, even if you're not the one driving. Going, because you worry about being held up and arriving late, and after getting off the plane, because you're tired. Or, sometimes, because you're in a taxi in somewhere like Milan! All roads are far more dangerous to travel than aeroplanes. If drivers had to have the training of pilots, there would be fewer of them....but far more competant.
Hope that cheers you up.
Doors to Automatic
5th Jun 2001, 12:37
Agree totally! I've flown about 500 sectors as a passenger and only seriously feared for my life once - on approach to Edinburgh in a Midland DC-9 in winds gusting to 70 m.p.h. A lot of the hot breakfasts were seen twice during that flight!
asianflyer2
5th Jun 2001, 17:55
The most dangerous part of flying is getting to the airport. If you have made it to Delhi, Calcutta of Bombay airports in a 1950s Morris Oxford or a 1960s Fiat then the rest is easy. Similar, but marginally less dangerous to reach Phnom Penh and Hanoi airports, to name but a few.
I also used to be a dentists chair flyer but 17 years as a pax in Indian Airlines sorted me out.
Good luck and all will be well.
I post stream of thought, and rarely edit. I have found that I lost more than I gain by editing. The result is usually technically perfect writing with absolutely no feeling at all. So read my stuff, and realize its stream of American thought, from someone with neither the time nor the inclination to edit his posts..
Cheers
Wino
Leviathan
7th Jun 2001, 23:57
Try reading the inflight magazine, you can check it for spelling mistakes, you'll be there before ya know it all.
Joe Curry
12th Jun 2001, 18:10
Futura are owned by Aer Lingus? I flew
them a few years ago and yes, the cabin crew
are attentive. :)
Do the FA's still have those 'scarves' threaded through the epulettes <sp>. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
Voodoo 3
14th Jun 2001, 20:34
I have logged about 700 hours on the -800 as an F/O in the last 13 months or so and have had no incidents or anything so don't worry. When you get on board tell the crew that you are a little nervous about flying and ask whether it would be possible to visit the front during the flight. I have had nervous people up at the front before and I genuienly believe that it helps them in overcoming their fear of flying to a degree.