Anyone getting on an airplane soon?

[Deleted]

Yes, I'm not nervous, I've never been nervous on a plane.

I do hate flying tough, but for the same reason I hate driving, I dislike being in a metal box with almost no leg room.

I prefer traveling by train, but even in Europe you somethimes have to fly or drive :/

[Spraxle]

So would you feel a lot safer if you fly the plane instead?

Maybe, I don't know. But I have never had the urge to fly. I've never been on a plane and I hate heights. The whole thing is just to uncomfortable for me. What I'm trying to say is I do not base my opinion on why I will not fly around whats been going on lately. I base it wholly on knowing myself and how I feel about situations and such. Sure there are some places I'd like to go that flying is the only way to get there, but honestly the chances I'd ever be able to afford that are so low it's a non-issue.

To a certain degree I agree with you. When I drive I am in control of whats going on and that is nice. But, I do not fear what I will do on the road. I fear what other people do. Theres so many idiots out there..

Couple of days ago me and my little brother drove in total 3600KM to get a dog for me. On this trip we saw alot of idiots driving. We saw 2 crashes happening and 2 cars who had crashed. The two we saw crash could be avoided if they acted normal, dunno about the others since we did not see them happen.

Atleast in a airplane you know that trained proffessionals is in charge. When on the road, you can meet any idiot any second.

Well I myself would be classified as a very defensive driver. I am always scanning and watching. Pedestrians, bikes, cars, trucks, etc. Sure you can't control the other people on the road, but you can control yourself. So that's what I do. I control what I am looking at and paying attention to my surroundings.

[Deleted]

Statistics man. You can't use feelings when calculating risk. ;P

Fear is an emotion, and therefore by definition irrational.

Flying is statistically much safer than driving, if you calculate the chance of a fatal accident per traveled kilometer per person.

Many people (me too) have some irrational fear, and that's fine. We're only human.
But people who try to rationalize their irrational fears are just idiots.

(I'm getting on an airplane next week, flying from Moscow - and no, I'm not worried a bit.)

[AeneasBK]

Yes, I'm not nervous, I've never been nervous on a plane.

I do hate flying tough, but for the same reason I hate driving, I dislike being in a metal box with almost no leg room.

I prefer traveling by train, but even in Europe you somethimes have to fly or drive :/

Do you treat your kite like you treat your woman, though?

[Jackmoves]

Fear is an emotion, and therefore by definition irrational.

Flying is statistically much safer than driving, if you calculate the chance of a fatal accident per traveled kilometer per person.

Many people (me too) have some irrational fear, and that's fine. We're only human.
But people who try to rationalize their irrational fears are just idiots.

(I'm getting on an airplane next week, flying from Moscow - and no, I'm not worried a bit.)

Yeah, like I said ;P

Now I'm out, bbq, I might choke on a piece of food but I'll take the risk. lol

[Reeve]

I really don't get it how ppl say flying is safer then driving. For one, there are thousands more cars on the roads then airplanes in the sky. Kinda unfair to even compare the two. Secondly, if your plane has issue and they are serious, you're dead. Period. Your car can have serious issues and not kill anyone.

Deaths/injuries per person per distance traveled is much higher for cars that planes. Like not even close. That metric controls for the number of vehicles involved.

Sorry, but we were not born with wings. Would I risk flying to where I needed/wanted to go? Of course. But I also know shit does happen, and all mechanical things fail at some point, Not a matter of if but when. And when things go wrong on a plane your life is at risk.

Sure, but while the chances of dying if something goes wrong may be higher with an airplane, the chances of disaster striking on a plane is incredibly low.

[Deleted]

Do you treat your kite like you treat your woman, though?

You mean do I take her home in the weekend to meet my parents?

[Saladbar]

The plane vs car statistics are a tricky thing. They always base the numbers on miles traveled. I'd rather see them based on time traveled. I think the last number I saw was 70x more likely to die in a car than a plane based on miles traveled. Even if you assume planes on average travel 10x faster than cars, you are still 7x more likely to die in a car. I think bus and train travel are supposed to be like 10x safer than cars, so they may be safer than planes.

However, it seems you can mitigate auto fatalities. You can't control other drivers, but alcohol and speeding are the primary causes of auto fatalities. Not driving drunk, not speeding, and trying not to drive when others are more likely to be driving drunk would seem to mitigate your risk by a factor or two. Still makes planes safer, but maybe not by as much as people trumpet.

[draykorinee]

No, it'll be quick at least, and when I'm dead I'm dead, now cancer, that's scary.

[AeneasBK]

You mean do I take her home in the weekend to meet my parents?

Some how this has got switched around :S

But nevertheless: NO!

[jackofwind]

The plane vs car statistics are a tricky thing. They always base the numbers on miles traveled. I'd rather see them based on time traveled. I think the last number I saw was 70x more likely to die in a car than a plane based on miles traveled. Even if you assume planes on average travel 10x faster than cars, you are still 7x more likely to die in a car. I think bus and train travel are supposed to be like 10x safer than cars, so they may be safer than planes.

However, it seems you can mitigate auto fatalities. You can't control other drivers, but alcohol and speeding are the primary causes of auto fatalities. Not driving drunk, not speeding, and trying not to drive when others are more likely to be driving drunk would seem to mitigate your risk by a factor or two. Still makes planes safer, but maybe not by as much as people trumpet.

How can you say you can mitigate auto crashes but not aircraft ones? Do you realize how utterly asinine that notion is? You can mitigate them both equally through rigorous mechanical inspection and training of pilots and drivers. You can't, however, ensure that cars drive in a vacuum where one driver is the only one on a stretch of road at a time. You can't control either speeding or alcohol in a true sense because people are fucking stupid and will do idiotic things - they then endanger everyone on the road with them.

How many air crashes are caused by mid-air collisions between aircraft? That number is insignificantly low because aircraft do not fly at the same Z-axis level as one another on similar routes. How many car crashes are caused by vehicle-on-vehicle collisions? That number is massive because all cars are operated on the same plane as each other and as numerous solid obstacles and other types of vehicles, and because people are fucking stupid. How many car accidents result in fatalities other than the person who caused the accident? You probably read about them every single day, you're just desensitized to it.

You can't control other drivers on the road and there are a shitload more of them. I am much more inclined to put my trust in an experienced pilot and flight mechanic crew than in the myriad dumbass drivers I see every single day when I'm on the road. To those who say they need no have control of the vehicle to feel safe - do you ever sit as a passenger in a car? Usually that's when I feel the least safe inside a vehicle if I'm with someone who doesn't have my absolute trust - I can't control the car and I can't control the cars around me. It's much wiser to be wary about getting into a car with someone you've never driven with before than it is to board a commercial airplane as a passenger.

People who are afraid of flying are simply irrational - there is absolutely no statistical evidence that even hints that car travel is safer than air travel. People also underestimate the ability that pilots have to safely land an aircraft in the result of an emergency - it's not like planes drop like rocks out of the sky at the slightest hint of trouble.

There are some thoroughly uneducated, blind, and stubborn people in this world and in this thread

[Saladbar]

How can you say you can mitigate auto crashes but not aircraft ones? Do you realize how utterly asinine that notion is? You can mitigate them both equally through rigorous mechanical inspection and training of pilots and drivers. You can't, however, ensure that cars drive in a vacuum where one driver is the only one on a stretch of road at a time. You can't control either speeding or alcohol in a true sense because people are fucking stupid and will do idiotic things - they then endanger everyone on the road with them.

How many air crashes are caused by mid-air collisions between aircraft? That number is insignificantly low because aircraft do not fly at the same Z-axis level as one another on similar routes. How many car crashes are caused by vehicle-on-vehicle collisions? That number is massive because all cars are operated on the same plane as each other and as numerous solid obstacles and other types of vehicles, and because people are fucking stupid. How many car accidents result in fatalities other than the person who caused the accident? You probably read about them every single day, you're just desensitized to it.

You can't control other drivers on the road and there are a shitload more of them. I am much more inclined to put my trust in an experienced pilot and flight mechanic crew than in the myriad dumbass drivers I see every single day when I'm on the road. To those who say they need no have control of the vehicle to feel safe - do you ever sit as a passenger in a car? Usually that's when I feel the least safe inside a vehicle if I'm with someone who doesn't have my absolute trust - I can't control the car and I can't control the cars around me. It's much wiser to be wary about getting into a car with someone you've never driven with before than it is to board a commercial airplane as a passenger.

People who are afraid of flying are simply irrational - there is absolutely no statistical evidence that even hints that car travel is safer than air travel. People also underestimate the ability that pilots have to safely land an aircraft in the result of an emergency - it's not like planes drop like rocks out of the sky at the slightest hint of trouble.

There are some thoroughly uneducated, blind, and stubborn people in this world and in this thread

Calm down there cowboy. I didn't say you couldn't mitigate plane crashes. I personally can't get involved in rigorous mechanical inspection or training of pilots though. I also did mention that you can't control other drivers on the road. I was just having some fun with numbers. I suspect that most people don't like flying for emotional reasons more so than for logical ones. Thinking people are dumb, blind, or stubborn because of this sounds somewhat irrational. We aren't robots after all.

[jackofwind]

Calm down there cowboy. I didn't say you couldn't mitigate plane crashes. I personally can't get involved in rigorous mechanical inspection or training of pilots though. I also did mention that you can't control other drivers on the road. I was just having some fun with numbers. I suspect that most people don't like flying for emotional reasons more so than for logical ones. Thinking people are dumb, blind, or stubborn because of this sounds somewhat irrational. We aren't robots after all.

There is nothing irrational about thinking that people making decisions and sweeping false claims based on their personal emotions, when objective statistics blatantly prove them wrong, are dumb, blind, or stubborn. It is, in fact, wholly rational to label them as such.

Deep-seeded phobias such as those of heights, spiders, or snakes are manifestations of evolutionary knowledge. Humans are afraid of them because they pose serious threats to our bodies and our ability to pass down our genes. Fear of flight is irrational because humans have no evolutionary history of flying and the dangers associated with it - it is a wholly modern concept, and therefore not an issue of them struggling to resist their genetic instincts.

Statistics prove that flight is the safest form of vehicular long distance travel available to humans. Attempting to argue that it is more dangerous than driving in a car, or making the statement that it is too dangerous to fly and therefore you are choosing to drive, is asinine in the extreme.

[Faenskap]

Next friday The only scary things are

- having to be at the airport ages before depature
- not getting the aile seat
- children crying
- no smoking
- last but not least, the boredom. God, flying is boring

[Taurous]

Mmmmhmmm. I won't even ride roller coasters. Sure as hell not putting me in a tube and launching me through the air. I have control of what I have control of in a car. While in a plane I put my control in the hands of a person who could be working his 3rd 8hour shift non-stop. Hmm... I wonder who I trust more.

When you are driving a car, you are putting your trust in every other car on the road. A lot more trust being given out than to one trained professional pilot. For example, last night I nearly had a head on collision when a guy ran a stop sign while I was just about half way through an intersection. No matter how well you are at driving, there is always someone out there that is shit.

[Saladbar]

There is nothing irrational about thinking that people making decisions and sweeping false claims based on their personal emotions, when objective statistics blatantly prove them wrong, are dumb, blind, or stubborn. It is, in fact, wholly rational to label them as such.

People shouldn't make decisions based on personal emotions? Maybe we are talking about different things. I'm talking about people not wanting to fly because they it scares them, not necessarily because they think they are going to die. I know someone, much smarter than me, that refuses to fly. He understands the statistics, but flying is just too emotionally stressful for him. I see nothing wrong with this.

[Conspicuous Cultist]

This.

There's no reason to be afraid of flying.

Unless it's Malaysia Airlines.

[Deletedaccount1]

flying back to DC for a couple of days, its a 14 hour flight really blows.

[jackofwind]

People shouldn't make decisions based on personal emotions? Maybe we are talking about different things. I'm talking about people not wanting to fly because they it scares them, not necessarily because they think they are going to die. I know someone, much smarter than me, that refuses to fly. He understands the statistics, but flying is just too emotionally stressful for him. I see nothing wrong with this.

My comments have been regarding the people in this thread (and elsewhere) who argue that flying is more dangerous even though the evidence disproves that fact. They also have been pointing out the silliness of arguing that flight is safer than driving because you are in control of the car, which is just a ludicrous argument. From what I have seen so far in this thread most people saying they don't fly argue that flying is just asking to die in a plane crash, which is absurd.

According to Arnold Barnett (a professor of statistics at M.I.T.) stated that in the last five years (in 2012), the death risk for passengers in the United States was one in 45 million flights. In other words, flying has become so reliable that a traveler could fly every day for an average of 123,000 years before being in a fatal crash.

Could you drive a long distance every day for an average of 123,000 years before being involved in a fatal car crash? Unlikely.

[Reeve]

Next friday The only scary things are

- having to be at the airport ages before depature
- not getting the aile seat
- children crying
- no smoking
- last but not least, the boredom. God, flying is boring

I'm a little afraid I'll miss my connecting flight in Miami. Two different tickets and different airlines, so I can't check my bag all the way through, and it's only a 1.5 hour layover.