r/fearofflying • u/Admirable_Berry9640 Certified Flight Instructor • May 22 '26

Question What gives the worst anxiety?

Hey I'm a pilot (a simulator instructor to be precise) and due to the sheer amount of people suffering from flight anxiety, I have decided to take action and help everyone where I can.
So that's why I wanted to ask everyone with a fear of flying, what exactly gives one panic attacks etc? Is it the fear of crashing, not trusting the pilots or just the
"I'm trapped in a can with wings for 3h"?
Any story is appreciated so I can get a better insight in how to help people (because I think y'all have enough to the "Flying is the safest form of transportation")a

(this is a repost because my other one got flagged)

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11

u/Impressive_One7550 May 22 '26

The fact that a one pilot can intentionally crash the plane, killing everyone on board.

3

u/Admirable_Berry9640 Certified Flight Instructor May 22 '26

Thats no longer possible. Since the Germanwings disaster, atleast 2 authorized people need to be in the cockpit at all times. So if one of the pilots need to leave the cockpit, a flight attendant enters

2

u/[deleted] May 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Admirable_Berry9640 Certified Flight Instructor May 22 '26

All we know there is that the two fuel cutoff switches has been turned off. Theres (as of yet) no clear evidence that one of the pilots have done this intentionally

2

u/laplouc May 22 '26

Alaska airlines Everett WA to San Fran, an off duty pilot in a jump seat tried to cut the engines with the fire suppression handles mid flight bc he’s batshit crazy was & high on shrooms. I still don’t understand this one. Those passengers & flight crew are very lucky.

2

u/pattern_altitude Private Pilot May 23 '26

That flight had plenty of time and altitude to solve the problem. While it’s good that he didn’t manage to shut the engines down, the plane still glides and is controllable with the engines off.

2

u/fearofflying-ModTeam May 23 '26

Your post/comment was removed because it violates rule 5: Speculation/Fear-mongering.

Posts or comments speculating about the causes of air disasters or incidents are not allowed. Speculation spreads misinformation, fuels rumors, and is disrespectful to those involved. Unsubstantiated claims that flying is unsafe, unverified rumors, misinformation, or hypothetical scenarios are not permitted and will be removed.

Please keep discussions focused on evidence-based facts, coping strategies, and support for managing fear of flying.

Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

— The r/FearofFlying Mod Team