Archive for Aviation safety

Can Planes Crash from Turbulence?

Image via Wikipedia

After the recent United Airlines turbulence incident and subsequent news coverage, those with a fear of flying (plus those not afraid to fly!) have been wondering about the wisdom of flying. Especially when flying can lead to turbulence that injured 21 people.  A lot of people hate turbulence or fear it, so the [...]

3 Things Pilots Fear

Image by origamidon via Flickr

As a pilot who makes his living working for the airlines, I’m involved in aviation every day, in one capacity or another.  Being a de-facto diplomat for aviation, I love writing articles that might help fearful flyers.
A certain mystery surrounds aviation. Darkness, ethereal haze, or pure magic and sorcery?  Truthfully, I’m [...]

What’s to Fear about a Short Hop in a Turboprop?

Image via Wikipedia

During a recent layover in Philadelphia, I had an opportunity to step out of my usual place in the cockpit to fly as a passenger on a commuter flight to visit friends in Harrisburg.  Since I am used to piloting an Airbus 319, 320, and 321, this flight in a turboprop took me [...]

Volcanic Ash Shows Air Travel at Its Best and Worst

Image by Sverrir Thor via Flickr

Takeoffs, turbulence, thunderstorms…fearful flyers worry about a lot of the same things. This week, Mother Nature delivered a new twist to the fear of flying worry list:  a volcano and volcanic ash from the eruption in Iceland.
Exactly what is the big deal with this big white cloud that has grounded [...]

Pill-Popping Pilots–Are You Kidding Me?

Image by PaDumBumPsh via Flickr

An email from recovering fearful flyer Regina was directed this week to Capt. Ron:

WHAAAAATTTTTT the FAA is  going to allow pilots to fly while taking antidepressants???? (&_(*M&*$N)C(@*MX)@  What airlines are this dumb? And to agree with the FAA on this one?  Passive aggressive and suicidal behavior are side [...]

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 [...]

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