Flying Is Fucking Terrifying
LatestA British Airways flight en route from London to Gibraltar was diverted to the Spanish city of Malaga on Monday after strong winds prevented the aircraft from landing safely. The footage is absolutely terrifying.
In a video shot by a man on the ground, you can clearly see the plane sharply swaying back and forth like it was a toy controlled by a toddler:
The passengers are all fine (though thoroughly shaken up) and in a statement, British Airways assured that “At no point was there a risk to safety.” Still, as someone who is afraid of flying, this makes me want to—for lack of a better phrase—fucking barf.
I suspect that my fear of flying either started or intensified with 9/11; seeing footage of planes flying into buildings on loop as a 10-year-old was bound to have a negative impression on me, an anxious child who already mulled over death constantly. But while I’ve lugged my fear of flying around for nearly two decades now, the specificities of my fear have morphed with time. What began as a fear of terrorist hijackings or bombs turned into a fear of crashing into the mountains, oceans, and lakes mid-flight. Now, when I’m not worrying about suicidal pilots or watching Air Disasters like a masochist, I’m fretting over the two biggies: Take off and landing.
Most plane accidents occur at take-off and landing; according to Travel and Leisure, Ben Sherwood, author of The Survivors Club — The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life estimated that, “80 percent of all plane crashes happen within the first three minutes of a flight or in the last eight minutes before landing.” Yes, statistics also show that my chances of dying in a plane crash are one in however many million—or that my chance of dying on the car ride to the airport are far higher—but it’s hard to be rational when you have an irrational fear. It’s in the name!