just out of interest is the long term trend in air accidents/fatalities on a donward trend over the course of time?
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0 Kudos
Air France Flight 'disappeared'?
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 mick |
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Posts: 5 (06/07/09 17:00:26) |
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Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW |
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Posts: 2591 (06/08/09 06:35:30) |
The trend has indeed been downward over time as technology has improved safety.
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patrick1971 |
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Posts: 1 (06/09/09 04:24:17) |
Question:
There are rumours that pitot tubes failed to measure correct airspeed. My question is don't jets have a gps system to locatie their global postion nowadays? (in flight I always see monitors showing the exact location and heading of the aircraft) If there are conflicting airspeed readings, why can't the info from a gps system not be used to determine airspeed? In fact why use pitot tubes at all for speed readings? |
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FobicFlyer |
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Posts: 8 (06/09/09 04:51:20) |
OneAnt ... Yes, I tried the SOAR program but it didn't work for me. A friend in the States bought it and had great success so she sent the entire package
to me thinking it would enable me to overcome my phobia. It didn't. I went through the entire thing, did the exercises, even booked a flight. But the
morning I was to fly for the first time in more than a decade, I couldn't even go to the airport. I re-did the exercises but they didn't help.
Fortunately, a doctor friend wrote a "he was sick and couldn't travel" letter for me so the ticket was refunded.
Mr. Bunn ... Thanks for taking a moment to respond. To you, my phobia is irrational and unfounded but, to me, it is very real. Actually, I don't drive very much and am terribly uncomfortable riding as a passenger when someone else is driving. When I am riding on a bus or subway, I have to sit at the very front so I can "keep tabs" on what is coming at us; I even plan my escape route in the event of an accident. Fortunately, before the onset of my problem I'd been all over the world so I'm not sitting at home regretting a half-lived life. And, safety issues and concerns aside, from the horror stories people who do fly tell me about the silliness and hassles of going through window dressing security, and dealing with schedules that could win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and surly airline personnel these days, it doesn't sound like I'm missing anything. People who work for the railroad are pleasant, trains are comfortable and on-time, and I can control my fear. |
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Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW |
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Posts: 2595 (06/09/09 09:53:21) |
Fobic, I posed this on another thread. But it sounds like your thoughts about the dangers of flying are established, and not open to revision. A counseling
session is part of the program to make sure you set up the strengthening exercise right. The program does not get you on a flight; that is something only you
can do for yourself. What we can do is make it so that if you do get on, you will find out it did work; it did stop the feelings when flying.
But you never find out the program worked by staying at home. |
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hautlipz |
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Posts: 69 (06/09/09 12:22:54) |
Capt Bunn -- Here's a novel hypothesis about what *may* have happened to the Air France flight: a meteor strike. There is speculation that meteor strikes
could be responsible for other crashes, as well. Do you have an opinion on this?
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/06/05/1419247/Could-a-Meteor-Have-Brought-Down-Air-France-447 |
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Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW |
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Posts: 2600 (06/10/09 07:37:17) |
Wait. Haven't I said enough about the RISKS of speculation? As it is repeated, it is memorized, and loses its speculative qualities, and begins to feel
like fact, and may seem like an omen.
If you insist on speculating, expect it to traumatize you, and that you are responsible for the resulting anxiety. |
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hautlipz |
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Posts: 70 (06/10/09 11:32:48) |
Yes, I realize that speculation is pointless. The Air France crash isn't bothering me -- I figure one major airliner accident in, what, seven years,
isn't much to worry about. If only the odds were that good on the road.
I was just curious about the speculation that meteors could have anything to do with airliner accidents at all, since this is an entirely new one on me, and I'm a professional astronomer. Is this just silliness or is there any evidence in the past for meteors interfering with air travel? |
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OneAnt |
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Posts: 840 (06/10/09 12:17:42) |
Logically, I'd think that any object falling through the typical cruising altitude of modern airliners could possibly be an issue, albeit a fantastically minuscule one. So small, in fact, it would be one of those "You've GOT to be joking!" moments. That US$232M lotto winner would probably have to win that jackpot many, many, MANY times over before even coming close to the probability of a meteor striking a plane aloft. |
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hautlipz |
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Posts: 71 (06/10/09 14:35:08) |
OneAnt, I agree that the odds of a meteor striking any particular plane are extremely small, but the possibility of it happening at all is not implausible if
you consider the number of flights that take place in a year -- or over a ten-year span. Meteors do hit houses and cars, but nobody loses any sleep over it.
I was just curious if this has ever proven to be the case with a flight, since someone mentioned it with regard to the Air France crash. But I guess it proves Capt Tom's point -- I'm surprised nobody has speculated about a UFO attack. |
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recentfear |
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Posts: 17 (06/12/09 13:50:33) |
patrick1971,
Airspeed is different than ground speed. You're probably referring to ground speed, like how your car's GPS is able to figure out the car's speed. This is useless for an aircraft. The only thing that matters is the speed relative to the air in which its flying. When I fly from Asia to the west coast over the pacific, along with the jet stream, the aircraft's speed though the jet stream is constant, but the speed of the shadow cast by my plane on the surface of the pacific is moving way faster than the speed of sound, which is what the GPS would measure. |
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patrick1971 |
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Posts: 2 (06/13/09 05:36:21) |
Hi recentfear,
Thanks for the answer! I didn't know speeds were relative to the surrounding air. Still a follow up question on this: If the speed of the jetstream is known, can you deduce the the 'airspeed' based on GPS? I know this may not be accurate in the end, but I was just wondering how big such discrepancy could be between airspeed readings and GPS. If the tubes malfunction for whatever reason, and there is not backup system (as far as I'm aware off), wouldn't GPS be a reasonable failsafe mechanism? thanks Patrick |
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esprit12 |
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Posts: 75 (06/14/09 06:55:27) |
Hi recentfear,
Have a question, actually two. Is it unsafe to use a GPS on a plane? Are you saying that my GPS wouldn't work on a plane? Very interested in how this all works although I can't say I really understand. Thanks, Pam |
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OneAnt |
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Posts: 844 (06/14/09 09:19:17) |
A GPS is not going to interfere, as it's just receiving satellite signals and not really transmitting anything.
Your GPS should work on the plane. Give it a shot and let us know. |
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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. |
