Count me out for all meat-ups that are a plane ride away (1 Viewer)

manamongkids

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Welp, never flying again, it was a good run

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ge...rdings-could-yield-cockpit-door-clues-n330426

Seriously, if this is true, how can one every feel comfortable flying again? It seems like every month a plane of 100+ passengers goes down, whether its Asia or Europe...I feel like sooner or later its going to become the norm in the US too.

It's really remarkable that commercial planes essentially have changed very little over the past 50 years or so.

Maybe I'm becoming one of those conspiracy types now (damnit)
 
If you're not flying you may as well go build the bunker because percentage wise it is WAY safer than driving
 
Sarcasm intended for OP, but seriously at least I know my car won't have any terrorists or suicidal maniacs in it.

If this story has merit of course.
 
It seems like every month a plane of 100+ passengers goes down, whether its Asia or Europe...I feel like sooner or later its going to become the norm in the US too.

It definitely seems like that, but I think it's just like people thinking how the US crime is so bad "these days" as opposed to "back in the good old days". People will swear up and down it was a safer world twenty, thirty, forty years ago, and while I may agree about some specific things, the actual statistics show the world we live in today is leaps and bounds safer than it ever has been. Same with your comment about planes going down monthly, it definitely "feels" that's a correct statement, but if you look at the numbers 2014 was the safest year of air travel ever. Now, I'm just repeating a statistic I read on the internet, so I may be wrong about that, but I'm pretty sure people aren't allowed to lie on the net.

I have a fear of flying and therefore don't take advantage of the convenience flying offers nearly enough. The last 7 times I have been to visit "home" in Scottsdale and the last four or five Vegas trips, plus a few California trips have all been road trips for me. I love driving and would choose to drive most of the time without fail even if I felt 100% comfortable flying...but sometimes I think how I could buy a plane ticket and get to Scottsdale (technically Sky Harbor ;) ) in about 3 hours as opposed to 25 driving. It frustrates me that anxiety/fear stops me from seeing people I love or going places that road trips can't reach when a "safe" solution is available to see the world. No matter how many times I read the statistics I can't get through my head that I am in exponentially more danger with my cruise control set at 98mph crossing the desert between Jackpot and Vegas in my car than I would be in a plane 35,000 feet up. I fully admit it's irrational and I wish I could overcome it, but stories like this do me no good. Not to dwell on the horrors of life, but I can't get out of my head the terror people must feel when they "know" the plane is going down and there is nothing to do but sit there. Crazy world we live in...
 
I guess I'm fearless in that regard. I'm more afraid of not seeing and learning about the world around me and not living my life to the fullest. I'm in Pakmeng Beach, Thailand as I write this. We are teaching kids about the ecosystems here and enjoying the best that life can bring. I'll post a few pics at the end of this day. We go where even 99% of Thailand's tourists do not. My kid is with me. He's getting a real outdoor science education this week. Screw classroom education!

I live and work in a dangerous place. I do it because the money I can make and the experiences my kids have had will make them true global citizens and set us all up for life. The USA offered no real future as a public school teacher. I refused to be treated as a public servant. I'm a professional educator. My fear of flying when I decided to leave was quickly overcome. Risk nothing and you'll learn nothing. I have friends around the world. I can't put into words how much that has enriched my life and I fly about 35000 miles a year.

Meet ups? Send me an invite. If I have the time and permission I'll fly across many time zones and oceans for the opportunity to be your donkey.
 
My old job was a FIFO job (fly in fly out) the plane was the dodgiest plane I've ever been in with some terrible pilots. If I was going to die in a plane crash it would've happened by now.

- - - - - - - - - Updated - - - - - - - - -

[video=youtube_share;G62JNLKyZxY]http://youtu.be/G62JNLKyZxY[/video]

This is the same airline and same type of plane. Just a different mine site that it was flying too.
 
This just sounds so wrong in so many, many ways

Why is that?
image.jpg
Learning about coral reef ecosystems and global significance with world famous naturalist, Thom Henley.
 

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This thread needs Redbelly to chime in. I just moved from a small town of under 10K people in CT to a city of over 100K people in FL, adjacent to Tampa which has over 300K people. The drivers here are horrific. I am way more scared of dying in a car crash here than I am in a plane.

Also, don't ignore the impact of a 24 hr news cycle. Because of the internet and social media we are bombarded with a larger deluge of horrible news on a constant basis.
 
I have been in one pretty bad car crash and my head smashed the front window. Thankfully wearing my seatbelt.

But at no time during the accident happening or after the accident happened was i more scared or worried than I am when I take off in a Plane.

I used to be indifferent to flying, now I can't stand it
 
I recall reading a statistic that said you could get on a plane every day of your life and likely never be in a crash, and that 80 percent of passengers in incidents classified as "crashes" actually survive.

That said, many of the incidents we've heard about in the news recently involve pilots or aircraft outside the U.S. Some airlines (and countries) have horrible safety records. I don't want to bash the good pilots in those places, but give me a good old American ex-military pilot any time, and I'll sleep on the plane like a baby.

All of life, and anything worth doing, involves a certain element of risk.
 
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The other end of the spectrum is the young regional airline pilots making $30k a year with $100k in student loans, sleeping 6 to a bedroom for four hours between flights because they can't afford a hotel room and the airlines schedule them as tightly as regulations allow.

Even with those guys flying, I still feel safer than dealing with idiots on cell phones, collapsing bridges and kamikaze deer on the road.

I recall reading a statistic that said you could get on a plane every day of your life and likely never be in a crash, and that 80 percent of passengers in incidents classified as "crashes" actually survive.

That said, many of the incidents we've heard about in the news recently involve pilots or aircraft outside the U.S. Some airlines (and countries) have horrible safety records. I don't want to bash the good pilots in those places, but give me a good old American ex-military pilot any time, and I'll sleep on the plane like a baby.

All of life, and anything worth doing, involves a certain element of risk.
 
This thread needs Redbelly to chime in...

I actually sat down and typed a long response after the OP was made but thought I'd wait a bit...

A lot of great posts have been made and for the most part echo my thoughts.

The first thing I say to myself when I see a news report like this is, "dear God. here we go again!" Not because of the tragedy itself but because of the 24/7 news cycle, everyone with a tie is an "expert" something, how do we prevent this from happening in the future type knee-jerk reactions... and the surface hasn't even been marginally scratched to uncover the enormous amount of details that will eventually come to the surface to explain why this accident (or any accident) has happened. We have come to expect (demand) answers immediately after a tragedy like this and when we can't have it (and we can't, at least not an accurate or informed one) we turn to the media to give us (possible) answers and they are (to someone in the profession) nauseating in the shear numbers and WTF are you talking about hypotheses!

I don't know what happened in this particular crash. If what is being reported is true it is one of the rarest types of accidents I can imagine. It just doesn't happen. Pilots invest an enormous amount of time, money, and personal sacrifices to reach and maintain their employment and their licenses. I was employed at my current job after about 11 years of doing anything and everything to build the flight hours necessary to become employed at a major carrier. And I was fortunate! Before that I was making 20,400 (gross) annually working for a commuter. Why? Because we "love" to fly! The consequences of a mistake are extremely high. 99.9 percent of pilots become pilots because its a passion and we truly love what we do... and when we compare the number of accidents to flights we do it exceedingly well.

In this case, horrifying as it appears to be, you have one pilot that may have locked himself inside and committed, to me and every other pilot out there, the unimaginable. However, just in the post 9/11 era we have had numerous attempts to breach the cockpit by all sorts of individuals. Some stopped by passengers and some by this reinforced door. Giving any way to access the flight deck from the cabin would be immediately exploited by individuals intent on gaining access to the cockpit for destructive purposes. As horrific as this situation appears, pilots are some of the most trusted professionals that I can think of and you want us protected on the inside of that door.

I dont usually look this stuff up but there is somewhere around 93,000 flights a day to commercial airports around the world. Nearly 34 MILLION flights a year! Accidents are extremely rare! This particular accident, while tragic and unthinkable, is not something I would even think about getting on any carrier anywhere in the world and I fly around A LOT in the back of airplanes.

While I don't know how this might have changed the circumstances of this particular flight, I was surprised to find out that most non-US carriers allow the pilot to be alone in the cockpit when the other needs to use the restroom. Normally I would expect a flight attendant to replace the exiting pilot leaving two individuals in the cockpit. I believe that I saw that many foreign carriers have immediately started implementing this procedure.

I use to be reluctant to go out on the road on a Friday/ Saturday night for fear of drunk drivers. I can honestly say that my biggest fear now is that I will be taken out by a cellphone distracted texting driver. The shit I see on the road (as we all do) is truly terrifying to me. The ability for most drivers to keep their lanes because of self-induced distractions (cellphones) is literally unbelievable to me. No kidding, yesterday I passed a school bus driver that was texting on their phone. If the situation was possible I would have tracked that guy down! I just could not believe it. THAT is where your fear should be in getting to the next Meet-Up!

A lot of things are frustrating, and tend to give people pause, when choosing air travel... SAFETY and wondering IF I'm going to get there is NOT one of your concerns! You will!

Enjoy your next flight! It's a wonderful and amazing world we have access to!
 
Yup. Flying remains one of the safest options for travel. I fly to CA Monday, and 1.5 weeks after my return I fly to Chicago (on a redbelly). I'm not concerned in the least. I hate the fear mongering that goes on in our 24 hour news cycle.
 
I defer to the expert (Redbelly) in the details but I'd comment that while airplanes seem to just become safer with time, automobiles are the opposite. The comments about cell-phone impaired drivers are spot on. I am a cyclist, but I've recently just about stopped riding my bike on the road unless in a group. The number of serious injuries to cyclists is rising and it's nearly always from somebody on a cell phone.

I feel very safe when flying and I'm grateful for the experts like Redbelly in the cockpit.

L

Edit: Note that if you kill/injur somebody while driving impaired (drunk) you will likely face prosecution and jail time, but if you do so while impaired (cell phone) you may not even get a ticket.
 
I just bought a new car. I replaced a 2003 Corolla with an Acura MDX. The Corolla was a huge step up in safety for me 11 years ago, as it was my first airbag equipped car. My new car has so many safety features it's insane. It has lane sensing technology, and can steer the car to maintain the lane. Emergency collision avoidance braking system that auto breaks for you. Cruise control that senses the car in front of you and maintains a safe distance. 8 airbags. Blind spot sensors. Cross traffic sensors that activate the breaks when you're in reverse. Super handling AWD that is amazing. I have never felt safer in a car.

The car will literally drive itself on the highway for short periods, and shut down if there is no driver input.

I think cars are getting much safer.
 
I just bought a new car. I replaced a 2003 Corolla with an Acura MDX. The Corolla was a huge step up in safety for me 11 years ago, as it was my first airbag equipped car. My new car has so many safety features it's insane. It has lane sensing technology, and can steer the car to maintain the lane. Emergency collision avoidance braking system that auto breaks for you. Cruise control that senses the car in front of you and maintains a safe distance. 8 airbags. Blind spot sensors. Super handling AWD that is amazing. I have never felt safer in a car.

The car will literally drive itself on the highway for short periods, and shut down if there is no driver input.

I think cars are getting much safer.

They are pushing it towards a point when everyone's cars WILL do the driving and then things will be much safer.

People are the problem.
 

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