Lately I've noticed a pattern emerging... A plane always crashes or has some incident within 1 or 2 weeks of my departure dates! For the last few flights,
take a look: 1. On August 26th 2008, I flew to Denmark. One week earlier, a Spanair Flight crashed on take-off. 2. On December 23rd, 2008, I flew home. One
week earlier, that Continental flight crashed on take-off. 3. I'm set to fly back to Copenhagen to continue my study abroad trip on January 28th, and lo
and behold, there was a US Airways plane that crashed today into the Hudson River! I don't know, but this is starting to seem a little too unlikely to be a
coincidence...like I keep "just missing" being involved in an accident...so strange! Or am I just going crazy?
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String of coincidences is starting to bug me
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 bubble06 |
String of coincidences is starting to bug me |
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Posts: 1 (01/15/09 19:49:29) |
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OneAnt |
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Posts: 746 (01/15/09 20:46:20) |
I knew someone, about 20 years ago, who had the the flight before his--BTW, he was supposed to be on the first flight but was delayed and switched--crash,
killing everyone.
He kept flying. In fact, he's now a corporate pilot. I mentioned in another thread just now about a friend of mine at work saying that THIS is why he never flies, and how it would be HIS flight that crashed. This doesn't change anything! Flying, including YOUR flight, is no less safe because of this incident. Your flight has the same infinitesimal chance of having a problem as every other flight. I was there where you are. I could legitimize my fear with every coincidence imaginable. "That flight left the same city I gre up in, and was supposed to stop in Miami, but had problems over the city I live in now and landed where I was supposed to take of from in two weeks!" You can link everything in this world to something else. Ever heard of the game "7 degrees of Kevin Bacon?" It's all in your head. Get with Capt Tom, get the SOAR course, and rid yourself of those pesky false links. |
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teenadie |
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Posts: 27 (01/16/09 06:59:23) |
never the less, my stomach is killing me today in anticipation of my flight on Tuesday. I dealt with the December one and put that behind me---but now another
one.
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tabbygirl521 |
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Posts: 72 (01/16/09 10:44:39) |
Bubble, I was actually at the airport waiting for a flight a couple of years ago, and was killing time cruising around the concourse. I passed a newsstand and
saw a picture of the JetBlue plane that landed without gear, shooting up flames (everyone was fine but the picture was a little dramatic). I had a split-second
OMG! moment and then I just shook my head and laughed at myself.
A worse time was, pre-SOAR, I was away on vacation having flown to AZ on a SWA 737. Perfect flights but I suffered the whole way due to fear. When I arrived in AZ I thought, "Well, that all went OK; planes DON'T just fall out of the sky. I am fine now." Then a few days later....a 737 fell out of hte sky over PA. I still had to fly home, on yet another 737. Honestly, that was the event that made me quit flying for 10 years, until I resolved to get over it - and found SOAR. Think of it this way: every morning I get into my car to head out for work. And when I switch on the radio I regularly hear reports of car crashes affecting the commute. Sometimes with injuries, sometimes with fatalities. Never once have I thought OMG! I can't drive!! And this is virtually every single day. Maybe this feeling of superstition (which I understand, because I used to have it, too) is a bit like hypochondria - you hear about someone getting cancer, then suddenly everything you feel in your own body means cancer, too. |
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Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW |
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Posts: 2484 (01/16/09 11:49:27) |
First, people don't pay much attention to crashes UNLESS they are thinking of flying. There are crashes all the time some place in the world. Most of them
mean nothing about flying in the civilized world.
Second, anxiety is less when you have control, and seeing a pattern is a way you are searching for a form of control by organizing something that doesn't organize. |
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teenadie |
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Posts: 29 (01/18/09 21:10:15) |
I had the opportunity to talk to a friend of mine who is a pilot for Continental. Talking to him before I fly always helps put things into perspective. He
helps with my irrational thoughts and helps me think more rationally. I was happy that I got to talk to him today!
Flying Tuesday--Philly to Houston and back on Sunday. Anyone else doing this flight this week?? |
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Note from Capt. Tom I know everyone worries about weather, but pilots really do not worry about it. We simply - instead of worrying about it - completely prepare for it. Before going to the plane, we review the weather at the destination. If it is not 100% sure to be within legal limits when we arrive at the destination, we must specify an alternate airport in our planning documents, and load on plenty of fuel for going to the destination airport, and then if need be, diverting to the alternate airport. The legal limits are conservative. Even when weather is slightly outside the legal limits, any airline pilot could still land safely. You can rely on the captain never to land when the weather is not legal, and legality limits are reached prior to safety limits. If you are still anxious, call me and we can talk it over. I'm at 877 332-7359 from 10 AM until 7 PM Eastern time. For effective help, even if you are flying in a day or two, sign up now at www.fearofflying.com/fasttrack and call me when you finish Clip 9 so I can make sure you are all set. |
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Using Weather Information If you enter your ZIP Code or City at the top of the weather presentation, it will give you weather for your area. Or, you can enter your destination ZIP Code or City.
Click on the "LOCAL RADAR" button to see whether or not there are thunder- Turbulence, though it may cause anxiety, does not mean anything is wrong. Turbulence does not mean danger. The plane can handle far more turbulence than Mother Nature can dish out. Though flying in turbulence is safe, it doesn't feel safe. And here is where the SOAR programs come in. We can help you feel as safe when you fly as you actually are. You can see these programs at www.fearofflying.com/store. |
