Curious post by chornedsnorkack - I couldn't make sense of it - example: the China Airlines 747SP that "fell off" the sky??? ....and only one leg injury and a bad back injury on board ??? Mind you it's a great testement to the structural integrity of the aircraft - if it actually remained flying with bent wings and parts missing from the tailplane.
I got good insight from markjoy and groundlover's posts. I have had the suggestion before to sit close to the jumpseat and talk to the CC. However, with the deglamourisation of the CC role and the steady reduction in age and experience of the CC staff on many flights I take - I suspect that I would have much more experience of flying than most of them, hence I would have little to gain from talking to them.
Recently I travelled from Barcelona to Bilbao on a fine sunny afternoon. The passage of the short flight was smooth and uneventful. Then, about 25 minutes into the flight we hit turbulence and the MD80, very quickly, started rolling left and right and shuddering, the wind noise increased to a level where you could hear the gusts hit the airframe. Then, as quick as it started, it would stop, only to start again moments later with renewed energy. The belts were on, the knuckles white, the face was pale and I swore I was never travelling on a plane again. After 7 minutes the pilot started to desend and the horror ended.
I believe the best method for me to address fear (as described above) is to sit in the flight deck during a turbulent flight and observe the pilots reactions, expressions, body language and dialogue. I suspect this may be the (unachievable) solution.