Crashing and Burning!!!!
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Crashing and Burning!!!!
Do you not get scared when you fly? After all there is often 60 gallons of highly flammable avgas less than a meter away from you.
I worry about this, I occassionally even lose sleep over it. What happens if I crash and burn? You either get cremated in the remains(which is thankfully a free cremation), or I get buried 6' under if you crash fast enough(which is thanfully also a free burial). What can I do about this fear?
Surely eveyone has it to a small extent? Can I ever be an airline pilot like this, I can't image being close to tons and tons of this fuel. I like flying as I feel closer to God, but will he be there protecting me in the danger zone, just a few feet away from the ground?
Please help me, I need something to help me sleep and fulfill my dream at the same time.
I worry about this, I occassionally even lose sleep over it. What happens if I crash and burn? You either get cremated in the remains(which is thankfully a free cremation), or I get buried 6' under if you crash fast enough(which is thanfully also a free burial). What can I do about this fear?
Surely eveyone has it to a small extent? Can I ever be an airline pilot like this, I can't image being close to tons and tons of this fuel. I like flying as I feel closer to God, but will he be there protecting me in the danger zone, just a few feet away from the ground?
Please help me, I need something to help me sleep and fulfill my dream at the same time.
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This all sounds like a healthy respect for the hazards, if a little graphic. Fear is a survival mechanism and it would be worrying if you had none. Keep it in perspective though. How far away are the 45litres of unleaded in your car, and how close to hundreds of 1 ton metal boxes do you fly head on with to within 3 feet in a light aircraft? You are much more likely to come a cropper driving to the airfield!
Reduce risks & fly safe
Reduce risks & fly safe
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If you're going to worry about crashing, I would have thought it was better to worry about possible causes of a crash rather than the crash itself. That might focus your mind on "what would I do in the event of...." rather than "Aaaaargh! We're all going to die!!!!!"
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Release. Your concerns are of course normal, but to actually lose sleep over the matter is abnormal, and I would urge you to take medical advice if you fail to resolve these worries.
I have been flying for 32 years, and at present in the 757, 767, Cherokee and Chipmunk. I still think about the possibilities, especially when aerobatting the Chippie, but I reckon that if my number is up then God has given me a bloody big log book by now, and I should be grateful for all the good things that have come my way.
I never fly the Atlantic without wondering if it's my day to float in it. But somehow you 'know' that that is unlikely. At present around 1 in 1,250,000 chance. Pretty good odds.
You will not last long in this profession if you fail to address your fears, and rest assured that when I face a limits crosswind on a foul night no-one is crapping himself more than me, but if you are to be in charge of an aircraft and 320 passengers then the responsibility entrusted in you must be the most important thought in your mind. It must overide all else.
As for 'Crashing and burning', rest assured that you will not suffer long. The fumes/smoke and lack of available oxygen will knock you out before the flames can cause too much pain. Shock will do the rest. As for hitting anything solid. I am told by reliable medical sources that the brain is incapable of registering the pain
as your body disintegrates. So it beats Cancer eh?
[This message has been edited by BoeingBoy (edited 01 July 2001).]
I have been flying for 32 years, and at present in the 757, 767, Cherokee and Chipmunk. I still think about the possibilities, especially when aerobatting the Chippie, but I reckon that if my number is up then God has given me a bloody big log book by now, and I should be grateful for all the good things that have come my way.
I never fly the Atlantic without wondering if it's my day to float in it. But somehow you 'know' that that is unlikely. At present around 1 in 1,250,000 chance. Pretty good odds.
You will not last long in this profession if you fail to address your fears, and rest assured that when I face a limits crosswind on a foul night no-one is crapping himself more than me, but if you are to be in charge of an aircraft and 320 passengers then the responsibility entrusted in you must be the most important thought in your mind. It must overide all else.
As for 'Crashing and burning', rest assured that you will not suffer long. The fumes/smoke and lack of available oxygen will knock you out before the flames can cause too much pain. Shock will do the rest. As for hitting anything solid. I am told by reliable medical sources that the brain is incapable of registering the pain
as your body disintegrates. So it beats Cancer eh?
[This message has been edited by BoeingBoy (edited 01 July 2001).]
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I would agree with BoeingBoy, to be concerned about the dangers of flying is essential, to lose sleep over them is bordering on aerophobia. A very common condition of course but not really one that is compatible with being a pilot. However, don't worry as it is also very treatable. Release, do you fly a lot as a passenger? If not it may be an idea to fly a bit on a big jet just to get used to the feel of it. Personally I don't think about the potential for all the fuel in the tanks to ignite in mid-air, but I have to admit I sometimes get a little nervous in IMC conditions in UK airspace, although we have the best ATCers in the world we also have the busiest airspace and only luck has prevented the 'nightmare scenario' from happening thus far.
What has already been said is very true, it's just like worrying about your car getting broadsided at a road junction and you being seriously injured or killed. Which is of course a far more likely happening than any aircraft accident, particularly when flying with a Western airline.
The way to get over a phobia is to introduce yourself to your fear gradually, and since your worries seem to centre around the fuel tanks, try flying a bit as a passenger on jets and you will soon realise that the potential for something to go wrong is minimal. In GA however, things can go wrong sadly and it seems that at the moment not a weekend passes without news of a serious GA accident in the UK.
What is really not worth worrying about however, are the consequences for you in a serious accident. As BoeingBoy says, I don't think you would feel much, and as for me, if my number was called while I was in the air, I wouldn't really want to go any other way.........
What has already been said is very true, it's just like worrying about your car getting broadsided at a road junction and you being seriously injured or killed. Which is of course a far more likely happening than any aircraft accident, particularly when flying with a Western airline.
The way to get over a phobia is to introduce yourself to your fear gradually, and since your worries seem to centre around the fuel tanks, try flying a bit as a passenger on jets and you will soon realise that the potential for something to go wrong is minimal. In GA however, things can go wrong sadly and it seems that at the moment not a weekend passes without news of a serious GA accident in the UK.
What is really not worth worrying about however, are the consequences for you in a serious accident. As BoeingBoy says, I don't think you would feel much, and as for me, if my number was called while I was in the air, I wouldn't really want to go any other way.........
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Every time I strap on a Cessna I’m well aware of the risks. I’ve read plenty of AAIB reports where people with infinitely more experience than me have become statistics, and they’re never far from my mind. Does it scare me? Not at all – I just regard it as healthy respect for my environment. I feel safe because I’m surrounded by people like me; fit, healthy, licensed, using checklists, following standard procedures, obeying the rules etc.
What does scare me is driving round to the airfield. I’ve yet to see anyone walking round their car for 20 minutes before jumping in (hell, I even get funny looks when I pull out of the garage and check all my lights work). I share the roads with teenagers who think they’re indestructible and drive accordingly, with van men who want to get home in a hurry, with middle-aged women sitting 3” from the steering wheel who hate driving but do it because they have to, and with doddering pensioners whose failing eyesight and reactions regularly see them driving the wrong way up motorways. And how often are these people tested on their skills? Er, once, for about 25 minutes, and never once going near a motorway. And that, legally, is that for the rest of their lives.
Give me the Cessna any day. Oh yes, and to answer the question about fuel tanks – how many of us bother carrying an in-date fire extinguisher and first-aid kit in our cars?
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Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit pruning.
What does scare me is driving round to the airfield. I’ve yet to see anyone walking round their car for 20 minutes before jumping in (hell, I even get funny looks when I pull out of the garage and check all my lights work). I share the roads with teenagers who think they’re indestructible and drive accordingly, with van men who want to get home in a hurry, with middle-aged women sitting 3” from the steering wheel who hate driving but do it because they have to, and with doddering pensioners whose failing eyesight and reactions regularly see them driving the wrong way up motorways. And how often are these people tested on their skills? Er, once, for about 25 minutes, and never once going near a motorway. And that, legally, is that for the rest of their lives.
Give me the Cessna any day. Oh yes, and to answer the question about fuel tanks – how many of us bother carrying an in-date fire extinguisher and first-aid kit in our cars?
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Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit pruning.
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Touche Release, just read your thread in JB:
Fair enough, I thought I was wind-up proof by now but you caught me out this time. Very amusing! 
God I wish I had a sense of humour like all those JBers......
[This message has been edited by Wedge (edited 02 July 2001).]
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">I only wrote the post originally as a windup for the dull and boring wanabee's section(you should see their dead n' dull replies).
Of course I knew that it was really suited to JB, where it would turn into a joke and give us all a good laugh
Cheers slasher and Arm otw, you made me laugh!!</font>
Of course I knew that it was really suited to JB, where it would turn into a joke and give us all a good laugh
Cheers slasher and Arm otw, you made me laugh!!</font>
God I wish I had a sense of humour like all those JBers...... [This message has been edited by Wedge (edited 02 July 2001).]
