Lets talk commercial air travel safety

menschmaschine · Sep 23, 2008

I've flown quite a bit in my life. Apart from commercial, I flew in helicopters alot in the Marines. I'm one of those people who love flying... fascinated by flight. Except for the time in the Marines when we lost power in an engine in a hover and dropped about 100 feet in less than a second. Or the time when I flew to Japan in an old 747 and watched the wings go up and down to nearly a 90 degree angle over Alaska due to turbulence (some of the Marines on the plane were actually grabbing for their dog-tags).

You'll be fine! You're flying first-class you lucky dog! That will help a lot with anxiety/claustrophobia. Being crammed into those seats in coach for that many hours sucks! When I fly, I'm more worried about people coughing, sneezing, etc. and getting me sick (I'm weird like that).

Congrats on your marriage and it sounds like a great honeymoon! I went to the continent as well on my honeymoon (my post in your other thread) and had a great time. Except for... right as the wheels touched down in Munich, I turned to my new wife and said, "I think I'm getting a sore throat." (see above) Yep, had a terrible cold for 2/3 of the honeymoon!

The stats are with you. You won't crash. You might get a cold, but you won't crash.

Soulive · Sep 23, 2008

menschmaschine said:
I've flown quite a bit in my life. Apart from commercial, I flew in helicopters alot in the Marines. I'm one of those people who love flying... fascinated by flight. Except for the time in the Marines when we lost power in an engine in a hover and dropped about 100 feet in less than a second. Or the time when I flew to Japan in an old 747 and watched the wings go up and down to nearly a 90 degree angle over Alaska due to turbulence (some of the Marines on the plane were actually grabbing for their dog-tags).

You'll be fine! You're flying first-class you lucky dog! That will help a lot with anxiety/claustrophobia. Being crammed into those seats in coach for that many hours sucks! When I fly, I'm more worried about people coughing, sneezing, etc. and getting me sick (I'm weird like that).

Congrats on your marriage and it sounds like a great honeymoon! I went to the continent as well on my honeymoon (my post in your other thread) and had a great time. Except for... right as the wheels touched down in Munich, I turned to my new wife and said, "I think I'm getting a sore throat." (see above) Yep, had a terrible cold for 2/3 of the honeymoon!

The stats are with you. You won't crash. You might get a cold, but you won't crash.

Haha, thanks a lot. I'll make sure to stock up on my vitamins. Sorry you had to deal with that cold though!

jds · Sep 23, 2008

I fly regularly for work. Keep in mind that you're in MUCH greater danger, statistically speaking, driving to and from the airport than you are once you board the plane. First class on a transcontinental flight is a very comfortable place to be. Take a couple of nighttime tylenol, put the seat down, and snooze your way across the pond. You'll be fine.

Or, save the tylenol for later, drink the free whiskey on the flight until you fall asleep, and take the tylenol when you wake up. Either way works, but I've learned not to drink on the plane myself, because I seem to get bad headaches when I do so. It's probably a dehydration thing.

Sherpa FE · Sep 23, 2008

Soulive said:
I'm interested in the statistics. It helps to remind myself that attendants and pilots fly every week more than once in one day. I just wish it wasn't even an issue, the way that driving isn't an issue for me (and its not as safe!)...

I have flown over 1200 hundred hours in a combat zone, been shot at, missles launched at me, and dumb pilots try to kill me.
TRUST ME, a trans-atlantic flight will be a piece of cake dude.
Take some ambien, drink some wine and go to sleep, all will be good.

Philip1993 · Sep 23, 2008

Here's another thing to remember. Turbulence can feel scary, but Bad weather is not a significant risk factor. Commercial Aircraft have magnificent radar available to them. That, and they are designed to operate in harsh "weather' For example: To you and I, a 150mph wind is devastating. To an airplane that normally travels 500mph+, it's no big deal. My last flight from Calif to Ga, we had a 200mph+ tail wind. Sound scary? Only if you are afraid of arriving home 1hr+ early. I never would have known unless the pilot mentioned it.

Watch the pro's in action:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIz-9pdzeTs]YouTube - FedEx Weather Divert[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPv8psZsvIU]YouTube - Flight Patterns[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1DwNyXOQ8]YouTube - FedEx 24 Hour Plane Operations[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFl_u9kIk6c&feature=related]YouTube - Atlanta Flight Animation[/ame]