Help with Takeoffs

[skichick]

Hi,
Not sure if this was covered elsewhere but here goes. I'm relatively ok once in the air but my biggest fear is takeoffs. Seems like most modern accidents occur on takeoff. Is that the case? Also, I hate the g forces that push you into the seats, makes it seem like the plane doesn't have enough speed to get up. Please help, my next flight is Fri. Thanks!

[MathFox]

You are wrong; most accidents happen in the car on the way to the airport. :D You are right that relatively speaking take-off and landing are the most dangerous parts of the flight, but flying is almost unbelievably safe and you are unlikely to ever be in an accident (even people that fly on a daily basis are unlikely to be in a plane accident during a lifetime.

If you are worried about the sensations during take off; the pilots need to get the plane at a speed where they can be sure that they can fly it safely, even when one engine quits. Those jet engines give them the acceleration they need, and give you the feeling of being pushed in your chair. And you can feel when the pilots pull the yoke to get airborne and the plane pitches nose up. What you feel then depends on how the pilots pull and where you are in the plane; if you are near the tail, it may feel that you "dip" a bit. Sitting over the wings gives the smoothest experience.

Sit back, breathe, relax. The guys (gals) up front are trained to get you to your destination safely.

[scottr0829]

To add to what MathFox said, realize that the plane is actually speeding up when it leaves the ground. It may look like it is slowing down, but that is the false perception created because you no longer have a good reference point to compare speed and distance with (the ground, with known, familiar distances, is getting smaller).