A Few Questions and Continuing Fears...

[redhead33]

I've only flown about a dozen (or less) times over the last 9 years because I'm scared to death of flying! (like many of you here) I live in Chicago and my (now) fiance lives in England, so I have flown 3 times last year over there to visit him. I thought I was getting better, but I'm not. :( I haven't flown there in over 6 months now and due to go back in August and I'm terrified! So terrified that I'm thinking of asking my doctor to prescribe some serious medication for the flight. :sigh:
On my last flight over to the UK, the plane literally DROPPED twice in about 5 minutes time. I've never experienced that before and I don't want to ever again. :( We all flew up in our seats and people SCREAMED. :eek: Being such the inexperienced flyer, I did not understand what or why this happened. When I returned home, my father told me that he was watching a bad storm cloud just over the border of Indiana and Illinois that day that I flew and I realized by the time and the duration into the flight that was when we dropped...where the storm cloud was (at least, that's what it seemed). Why did the plane do that and how dangerous is that??

Turbulence makes my stomach go into my throat. I can't stand it. I guess I need to know 100% that there is never any threat (no matter how bumpy it gets). Why can't the pilot avoid it? Is there any chance of losing control of the plane even for a split second in turbulence?

On my last flight to the UK, the turbulence was so bad that the pilot told the flight attendants to be seated as well. I noticed the Exit signs with different "signals"(?) throughout the flight. When it was really bumpy, it was flashing red, and at other times it was a constant green (I believe?). What do those different signals mean? I assume that they're a signal for the flight attendants? I guess I just wish I knew more of why things happen when I'm flying. This forum DOES help me, but when I'm on a plane, my head is telling me there's nothing to worry about, but my body is telling me the opposite. :sigh: Just so much anxiety. I literally shake and hold my breath during the flights.

My fiance will be moving here next year and we will have to fly back to the UK at least once a year every year to visit his family and I'm just dreading it. :cry: I don't know how to overcome this.

Sorry for the long post! I have been saving it up. ;)

[aerobat]

Hi, redhead!

Some of your uncertainty about turbulence would be better addressed by Falcon and Captain Hutch. Actually, I think there is a detailed post about turb on Captain Hutch's forum; I'll see if I can track it down. The other thing you might do is search on 'turbulence' to see what you can pull up from the archives.

You're asking for a 100% guarantee that turbulence won't hurt the airplane or cause a loss of control for even a split second. How about 99.9999%? I say this only because there two extremely rare classifications of turbulence--severe and extreme--which require a thorough inspection of the airframe thereafter. And most (waaay most) of the time they never find any problem. I say this thinking I have put my foot in my mouth, because fearful fliers, when told the chances against X happening are 99.999%, will seize upon that .001% and give it thunderous weight. As Hutch mentioned, these levels of turb come along once or twice in an airline pilot's whole career, if that. He's stayed in control, even so.

If you are buckled in, you will not be harmed by turb--even the very very rare kind, unless perchance someone stumbling around falls on you. It sounds like on the flight you mention (likely "moderate" turb) that some people were not buckled in.

There's no way to really learn to enjoy turbulence. We are hard-wired to not like it. We do not like sudden, unexpected falling sensations; we don't like being jostled and pushed and kicked from underneath either. But we can train ourselves to stay calm when it's going on. We must first truly accept that the airplane will not be harmed, and then it's a matter of practice.

I am wondering whether you'd consider a couple of short practice flights before the next big jump in August. Perhaps a morning flight followed by an afternoon flight? You have been sensitized to the unpleasant experience of moderate turbulence and your mission (should you decide to accept it :lol:) is to confront that sensitivity in measured doses and dismantle it. To that end, we recommend the site www.anxieties.com for a good layperson's anxiety education. There are also a number of exercises there which can help you get your intellect and your body cooperating with each other.

I can't tell you much about the cabin crew's light signals, but Falcon surely can. the reason your plane dropped--twice--is that it was flying through rough air, perhaps near the edge of a line of storms, and hit a strong downdraft. The air on a hot, humid afternoon is often moving either up or down. It's rather like sinking into a big pothole when driving on a bad road.

OK; I will stop here for now. Hopefully our pilots will check in and give you a big boost of reassurance! :thumbsup:

Barb

[Falcon]

The general board can help talking through the anxiety. As for the technical aspect here goes. Air is a liquid, liquid never sits still and air will ripple which moves the aircraft. All passenger aircraft have weather radar which looks into clouds and can see the rain. Some clouds can look threatening but have little water in them.
As for the cabin lights, I dont what aircraft you were on but ours are orange and blue. The blue light tells the cabin that the crew interphone has a call and orange lights for the passenger call button. Some aircraft have lights to tell you if the toilet is occupied.