Archive for Aviation safety

Another Routine Day to Fly

Image by robanhk via Flickr

The crew arrived at the airport on a routine but chilly Saturday morning in early March.  It was a cold almost balmy morning due to the absolute stillness of the dark night air. Our passengers—those afraid to fly or not—are also likely making their way to Metro airport. They were no [...]

Flying Cheap and Fear of Flying

PBS Frontline aired an excellent documentary recently called “Flying Cheap.” It highlighted the problems with regional airlines—those airlines that supplement major airlines by flying routes not profitable to fly with larger planes.  Frontline chose to air the program on the anniversary of the Colgan Air crash near Buffalo, NY.
I was surprised when I [...]

We’ve Come A Long Way Since Orville & Wilbur

Image via Wikipedia

December 17 is a historic day in aviation.
In 1903, 106 years ago, the Wright brothers made their first flight.
It was a monumental event then, but today their flight wouldn’t cover the distance from one wingtip on a Boeing 747 to the other.
Their feat was pretty amazing and we honor their achievement, but today’s [...]

The Crashing Side of Flying

People who are afraid to fly like to dwell on airplane crashes.  Imagine that!
Okay, so yes, I’ll admit it.  Airplanes do crash.  But the likelihood of it happening to the one you’re on is pretty slim.  The latest airplane crash statistics show that your kid has a better chance of growing up to be President [...]

Planes and Fear of Flying the Hollywood Way

If you’re a fearful flyer, maybe you’ve had someone who didn’t find your fear of flying real or believable.  Maybe they thought you are making this often debilitating fear up.
Like maybe all those tears and all that anxiety qualified you for an academy award or something.
Well, fear of flying is very real I’ve discovered in [...]

Afraid to Fly? Then Meet the Pilots!

Image by Rennett Stowe via Flickr

I came across this column called Feeding the Fear of Flying about the writer’s fearful flyer husband.  The couple’s solution to cure fear of flying made me smile and reminded me of what we advise fearful flyers to do.
The writer described her own fear of heights (which doesn’t bother her [...]

From Cockpit to Hotseat

As a fear of flying and aviation expert, the aftermath of the Miracle on the Hudson brought requests from the local media for my take on US Airways Flight 1549’s ditching in the Hudson River.  In one day, I appeared on one channel three times as an aviation expert and once for my fear of flying [...]

Miracle on the Hudson Flight and Fear of Flying

The show Inside Edition asked for people to call in and report whether or not the miracle flight of US Airways yesterday made them reluctant to fly.  While some of the US Airways plane still sits in the Hudson River, I’m happy to report that fearful flyers I’ve talked to today are reporting that they are no [...]