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[CAflyer]

I am finally feeling it, the anxiety about getting on the plane. It is about 2 weeks a way and I am just nervous every day. I go through moments when I am fine and I feel like I could get on a plane right then and be fine and then other times I feel like throwing up just thinking about setting foot in the airport. Right now my biggest fearful thought is take off. I just keep thinking how horrible it would feel to be taking off and then start falling knowing I am going down. I know it is so stupid. I also keep thinking that all the people that have been in crashes said the same thing to themselves , that everything is fine the chances are slim but they were on that one plane and it did happen to them.. what if i am one of those unlucky people. I know it is my brain playing tricks on me. I know I could say that about anything, today might be the day I am the unlucky person that gets in a bad car crash but I didn't get scared getting into my car this morning. It's so annoying!! My trip is with my friend and she keeps saying, " well at least we will be together if the plane goes down. " HA HA.. not funny :) Last time I was on a flight I could not relax, I just kept thinking the whole time something was about to happen. We didn't have any turbulence in cruise both ways but anytime the plane shook a tiny bit I was bracing for a bump or fall. When we started to land I would feel better and what is funny about that, that was the only time the plane would have turbulence and I would be ok with it cause we were landing. Even though I know landing is just as dangerous and safe as all the other parts of the flight just knowing I'll be getting off soon puts me at ease. I want to be able to think, " Wow! It is so cool that I am flying, look at how beautiful it is." But it is so hard.I guess i just can't shake the thought " This might be the one that crashes." :shakehead

[Pdxflyer]

So glad to have found this site.
I am so happy to see that I'm not the only one who feels like that. I am flying tomorrow and have been dealing with my fear relatively well compared to past flights. I've gotten some pills from my doc to help keep me calm during the flight but it's all the time leading up to it that's the worst. I just keep thinking about it and feeling uneasy. I can hardly wait for it to be over and to be grateful to be back home and on the ground!

But as of right now, I'm pretty nervous. :(

[Kimmar]

I have the same fear as you, of the plane falling out of the sky. (Too much Looney Tunes I guess...)

Look up the thread I started called "Can a pilot tell me about air as a fluid" it's got lots of good stuff in there about all the reasons *why* a plane can't just fall out of the sky.

Your airplane is actually more like a scuba diver than a plane hanging by a thread from the roof (which was my vision of a plane). It's well supported by the thickness of the air (and the air is thick because of the airspeed) and has no chance of "falling". It's very much like a submarine in the water, supported on all sides and not able to suddenly just *drop* out of the sky.

Even if both engines were shut off the plane is still a glider, and can land quite well without any engine power (The space shuttle does this everytime.) Actually, when you are on descent in your aircraft, you are, in most cases, actually gliding. The engines are throttled back to idle and the plane is doing just fine.

Same idea as the fact that a car will not come to a sudden stop, just because the stick shift was put into neutral. Yes, the car will *eventually* stop, but it will come to a nice rolling stop, not a screeching halt! LOL

Welcome, you'll find alot of useful information here, and alot of people who totally understand!

[CAflyer]

Thanks, yeah I know all the facts and most of the time I can use those to make myself calm down but when my imagination gets the best of me I get butterflies. It is almost a week away and all I can think about is my trip. Thanks for all the kind words.

[bellevueace]

What Kimmar refers to in the above post really helped me with a similar fear of the aircraft falling out of the sky. When i was in the air i imagined the air supporting the aircraft in a similar way a ship is supposrted on the sea, and the ship dosent just sink with no engine power, this really helped me.

[CAflyer]

I watch planes take off from my office building every day. I know some of them must have take off turbulence but each one looks so smooth. I know some people are in the plane worried and i just watch this plane take off gracefully into the sky. I need to remember what I see each day when I am scared.

[conor]

I watch planes take off from my office building every day. I know some of them must have take off turbulence but each one looks so smooth. I know some people are in the plane worried and i just watch this plane take off gracefully into the sky. I need to remember what I see each day when I am scared.
I think that's a perfect reason why your thoughts are irrational. Watching plans take off really help me with my fears. When your in the plane you feel like your going out of control, but 99.9% of the time plane is in control. You can see it as those planes take off. I think if you learn more about this changes, like decreased power, changing altitudes, decent, turbulence, then you'll be more confortable and understand that they are normal and what's happening when they happen.