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Hi Captain Lim,
Thank you for such a great website. Funnily enough, I have traveled all around the world since I was young and have always loved flying. But for some strange reason a couple of years ago, I suddenly became terrified, and I honestly can't think as to why (I didn't have a bad experience that I can remember). Now I am petrified of flying. I still do fly when I have to.
My two worst parts of the flying are:
1. The take off - I am so scared that the plane will not have enough power to get airborne and it will stall and crash. How likely is this to happen? Also, if you take off on a windy day, is it possible that the plane shakes too much and loses its balance on take off?
2. Flying at night / through cloud. I have to see where I am going and panic when the plane is bumping around and I can't see a thing out of the window. How can the pilots see where they are going? Do they get worried when the plane is in thick cloud and bumping around, and they cannot see?
How valid are my fears? Sorry to sound like a nutter but this newly found "fear of flying" is really starting to annoy me, especially as I once dreamed of a career in travel. This isn't exactly the best start, is it?
Thanks
Natasha
Hi Natasha,
1. You can leave the worry of the take off to your pilot. Remember, he has gone through very rigorous training to know when it is safe or unsafe to take off. If it weren't safe, he would abort the take off at the decision speed. He even knows precisely that, if he had passed that decision speed, he could still safely climb away should an engine quit on him at the worst moment. I have covered engine failure in a previous FAQ.
Every plane has a limiting crosswind speed for take off. So a pilot knows that it would be safe to continue with the take off even though it is windy because of the limitation. On the Boeing 777, the crosswind limitation is around 38 knots (44 mph) for take off.
Yes, on a crosswind (or windy) take off, the plane may shake a bit as it lifts off. This is because of turbulence caused by ground effect, but the plane would not lose its balance. It is under control by the pilot all the time.
2. A pilot is trained to fly at night or through clouds even with zero visibility. He need not have to look out in the air as he is guided by instruments in the cockpit. He is not worried to fly in darkness because he has passed his flight test and has an instrument rating - meaning that he has a license to fly at night and inside the clouds, virtually blind!
Hope this will make you feel better as understanding the how's and why's about flying is half the battle won in combating your fear of flying.
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