Flying to Amsterdam in 2 days completely terrified please help!!

[hilary]

I am taking a flight from Chicago to Amsterdam in 2 days and terrified at the very thought. I've gotten better about flying but have anew fear of flying over water. I just want to know what happens if a plane gets in trouble over the ocean? Can a big plane land safely in the ocean? Is it true that a plane is never more than an hour or two from land? What about big planes? Every time I try to get some strait reassuring facts I read some once in a century story about a plane plummeting into the ocean with everyone in it alive. Please help!!

[Captain Hutch]

Hilary,

I hope that my post is not too late for your flight. I do not fly international but under most circumstances including the failure of an engine the airplane will be able to make a landing at an available airport. Under the unlikely that the aircraft has to "ditch", i.e. a controlled landing into the water, the aircraft will be able to successfully accomplish this, and in fact in most cases the aircraft will float long enough for the passengers to get out of the exits and into the inflatable liferafts. The tail of the aircraft generally begins to sink first, so you would probably exit over the wings or forward.

One important note: don the life vest right away or at the flight attendant's command, but DO NOT INFLATE it until you actually get out of the aircraft. The reason is that if you inflate your life vest while still in the aircraft, as the aircraft gradually fills up with water you will float to the ceiling in the aircraft and not get out of the exits. This actually happened several years ago when an aircraft ditched off the coast of California.

But the chances of any major problem happening are extremely small.

Let us know how your flight goes.

Captain Hutch :tiphat: