Fear of flying....

daveg

The program on BBC2 last night (Horizon) got me thinking. How safe is flying? The program was a documentary about plane crashes and your chances of survival. The statistics were amazing. 90% of plane crashes have survivors. There was also a statistic at the start that said that 95% of crash victims from the years 1985 to 2000 survived!!!

Experts stated that the following could save your life if you crash:

1/ Check the safety card in front of your seat to check the brace position. To get this right is one of the most important things you can do if you crash.

2/ Know how to unbuckle your seatbelt (don't revert to the car seatbelt mechanism)

3/ Never inflate your lifejacket until you exit the plane. This is for 2 reasons

In the fuselage (if it fills with water) you'll float to the top of the cabin and you'll be unable to exit the plane

If you don't inflate when exiting you have the chance (high chance) of diving into aviation fuel which is very heavy and very difficult to swim in.

4/ Try to sit at least 7 rows from a serviceable exit. Statistics show that if the plane crashes you have more chance of surviving than dieing if you sit less than 7 rows from an exit. If you sit further than 7 rows you have more chance of dieing than surviving. Also, as you board the plane count the number of rows you ware from the exit. The plane maybe black with smoke and you might not be able to see if the plane crashes.

5/ Work out your exit route with your other travel companions. you should all try to exit on your own. Don't wait/go back for anyone.

The biggest danger is smoke. On average you have about 90 seconds to exit the plane before you'll be overcome by smoke.

Some say the safest plane to sit is over the wings as this area of the plane is re-enforced. However all the experts agreed there is no safest seat to sit in but all experts said they use the 7 seats from the exit rule when they fly.

So afterwards I checked some statistics (http://www.planecrashinfo.com/) and it is amazing how safe flying actually is:

Your odds of being killed in a plane crash are 52.6 million to 1 compared your odds of being killed in a car crash which are 7.6 million to 1.

Fatality statistics by phase of flight:
Takeoff = 22%
Climb = 25%
Cruise = 12%
Decent = 8%
Initial approach = 13%
Landing = 18% (final approach 16%, actual landing 2%)

Fatal Accident Causes by Category (percent):
Pilot error 37%
Other human error 4%
Weather 7%
Mechanical Failure 13%
Sabotage 5%
Undetermined 33%

Some stats on individual airlines (1970 - 1995):

Air Lingus 1.2 million flights - no fatalities/crashes
Ryanair 1 million flights - no fatalities/crashes
British Airways 8.27 million flights - 2 crashes
Virgin 0.15 million flights - no fatalities/crashes

NoDayBut2Day

They do say that flying is safer than driving in a car.

I think most people's fear of flying stems from just being out of control of the situation. When we're driving in a car, we feel like we can control what happens but up in the air, our fate lies with the pilot. That can be a scary thought.

But I think it's safe for the most part. They take many precautions and stuff and most airlines make it easy for the passengers and are very friendly and stuff.

cournioni

I'm not being picky here because you've said it at least four times... But what is a place crash?

Archeron

For me, part of the fear of flying is the whole falling 40,000 feet out of the sky and landing on a mountain thing. At least in a car crash, the car will crash, come to a halt and that will, generally, be the end of it. It doesnt explode and then blow apart, sucking you out in the great abyss for you to half freeze to death and half die of fear before landing with a thud in a remote spider filled jungle where you could end up dangling helplessly from a huge man eating plant while rabid tigers chew your feet off.

Good statistics on the accidents rates with our airlines. I wonder if, globally speaking, thats a particularly commendable record for Ryanair and Aer Lingus?

daveg

PORNAPSTER wrote:

I'm not being picky here because you've said it at least four times... But what is a place crash?

I don't know what your talking about

daveg

Archeron wrote:

I wonder if, globally speaking, thats a particularly commendable record for Ryanair and Aer Lingus?

I think you have to take into account the amount of flights an airline has flown as well. I was surprised by British Airways having 2 crashes but they have flown over 8 million flights. I suppose you have to take into account the amount of flights an airline has flown as well. Jesus Air France has a bad record. 7 crashes!!

cournioni

daveg wrote:

I don't know what your talking about

Nicely done...

EWheelChair

No ones ever survived a crash at sea, or so i read in zoo (or maybe it was nuts).

daveg

EWheelChair wrote:

No ones ever survived a crash at sea, or so i read in zoo (or maybe it was nuts).

Not true. The famous crash of a plane crashing into the sea that someone caught on camera (can't remember where it was) had many survivers. It acually featured on the programme last night. Many people survived the impact but many died by drowning - Because they inflated life vest too soon or drowned in the aviation fuel slick in the water.

daveg

Best to worst safety records for airlines:

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/rates.htm

Best is Delta with 17.74 million flights and 4 crashes.

Worst is Cubana airlines with 0.27 million flights and 7 crashes (Jesus thats high!!) The same percetage would have Ryanair having 28 crashes (taking into account 1 million flights).

Naked Lepper

daveg wrote:

Jesus Air France has a bad record. 7 crashes!!

hardly a 'bad' record in the grand scheme of things
think of how many flights a.f have had as frances national carrier since aviation began!

\m/_(>_<)_\m/

the title of this thread is wrong,

nobody is afraid of flying,











its crashing that worries most people.

Jimoslimos

EWheelChair wrote:

No ones ever survived a crash at sea, or so i read in zoo (or maybe it was nuts).

Yeah not strictly true as pointed out in another post but I think that it is correct that the majority of people in a plane crash at sea do die. Makes me wonder if there is any point in having lifejackets on board, particulary with continental flights where most of the flight is over land.

Bring on parachutes I say!

loyatemu

even if you do survive and get the lifejacket on, then you've got to worry about the sharks!

good programme though - definitely worth remembering some of the tips. the chances of being involved in a crash are very low, but they do happen.

that sea crash they showed was off the coast of madagascar (ethiopian airlines). Many of the dead inflated their lifejackets before they got out of the wreckage and drowned as a result. Not sure that parachutes would be any use on a crashing jet, you'd never get to an exit.

Peteee

The last words thing is a bit weird to read

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/lastwords.htm

jum4

daveg wrote:

90% of plane crashes have survivors.

Careful how you interrupt statistics as these take into account all types of aircraft including a huge proportion of light craft which have a significantly higher chance of crashing. A more valid statistic would be chances of surviving a European commercial airliner crashing and I'm sure you'll find it aint 90%!


misread above, thought it said 90% chance of surviving, ignore me!

Oriel

Dammit, I meant to watch that programme!
Anywhere online to see it by any chance?

mikedragon32

www.bbc.co.uk/horizon should see you right.

Dave!

Some interesting stats there buddy, fair play!

I love flying, it's just great speeding up and then the feeling as you're going into the sky, and then everything on the ground gets smaller, and then you can see the mountains and they're gorgeous, and then you're above the clouds

But there is something unnatural about a vehicle that weighs 30 tonnes flying through the sky at 600 mph!!!

It's just creepy...

Mec-a-nic

DaveMcG wrote:

But there is something unnatural about a vehicle that weighs 30 tonnes flying through the sky at 600 mph!!!

30? Max takeoff weights (plane, fuel, passengers, etc) for:

Midsize Jets:
Boeing 737 68 tonnes
Airbus 320 75 tonnes

Big Jets:
Boeing 747 Jumbo: ~380 tonnes
Airbus 380 560 tonnes!

:eek:

phantom_lord

I thought this was a thread about picturehouse. *sigh*

DublinWriter

daveg wrote:

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/rates.htm

How can Virgin rank 20th worst in that table when they have no incidents at all?

The table also has Aer Lingus down as having zero fatal accidents, ignoring the 1968 Tuskar Rock crash when an Aer Lingus Viscount downed with the loss of all souls.

Black Swan

NoDayBut2Day wrote:

They do say that flying is safer than driving in a car.

Thousands die in traffic accidents each year in the States, and half are reported to be alcohol related.

smemon

in plane crashes, (any ones i've seen on TV), the tail of the aircraft is the part of the airplane left almost intact. This leads me to believe the back of the plane is the safest part to be in.

I've always wondered why planes can't land on water. obviosuly not smoothly, but they could have some sort all round floating device and parachute which is activated at 1 metre above sea level so as to make a smooth landing and possibly keep the aircraft afloat.

Papillon87

I'm that annoying person you're stuck beside with her head in her hands for most of the flight muttering "I'm going to die". I just hate flying, every minute of it. Scares the life out of me.

Ruu_Old

Have been flying for years, no issues for me and haven't really come across many people with the fear. Some first time flyers but they were grand.

smemon

only ever 'scare' i had was an aborted take off last month in germany.

plane accelerated down runway, then engines throttled down and plane swung off the runway

captain had left the handbrake on and saidand i quote 'we'll just turn around again and give it another go'

Ruu_Old

smemon wrote:

only ever 'scare' i had was an aborted take off last month in germany.

plane accelerated down runway, then engines throttled down and plane swung off the runway

captain had left the handbrake on and saidand i quote 'we'll just turn around again and give it another go'

Haha. Its great when you get the perfect landing and the cheer goes up from the entire cabin, applause all round for the captain.:)

nlgbbbblth

Given a choice would you rather be in a plane crash or a car crash?

I'd prefer the latter - better chance of surviving.

Dr_Teeth

I wonder how many lives would be saved if they put smoke hoods instead of useless lifejackets under the seats..

daveg

DublinWriter wrote:

How can Virgin rank 20th worst in that table when they have no incidents at all?

The table also has Aer Lingus down as having zero fatal accidents, ignoring the 1968 Tuskar Rock crash when an Aer Lingus Viscount downed with the loss of all souls.

Thats what I was wondering when I first looked but you have to take into account the amount of flights an airline has serviced which is part of the grading. For instance Delta are ranked number 1, yet they have had 4 fatal crashes. However (when this stat was done) they have over 17 million flghts. Virgin only have 0.19 million flights.

tallus

phantom_lord wrote:

I thought this was a thread about picturehouse. *sigh*

That's a good track actually. (Fear of flying)
Back on topic, I remember reading in a newspaper during the Balkan conflict in the early 90's that it was statistically safer to walk up sniper alley in Sarajevo than it was to fly with Air China.

netwhizkid

DublinWriter wrote:

How can Virgin rank 20th worst in that table when they have no incidents at all?

The table also has Aer Lingus down as having zero fatal accidents, ignoring the 1968 Tuskar Rock crash when an Aer Lingus Viscount downed with the loss of all souls.

Look forward to Aer Lingus crashes very soon linky Bertie's Millionaire friends will make a quick buck out of the privatisation, while Irish Consumers get screwed over. Ryanair does nothing according to the book and a good friends of mine who did maintenance at Shannon for them said 20 hr shifts were nothing new. See my signature for detail's, another successful state enterprise built up over 70 years with our taxes gone to the vultures and Bertie Ahern and Co. can make big profits.

ATTN: Fianna Fail voters please report to your nearest hospital to be put down as your birth was clearly a mistake.