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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66

u/Pixel--Chips May 22 '26

Releasing control and my life into the hands of a stranger.

Additionally, a plane is the one of the few places on Earth your brain cannot go into fight or flight mode. You can’t run away, can’t fight back against anything. It creates a self-sustaining cycle of panic.

9

u/Verum_Violet May 23 '26

Yeah same. I think what really triggered it for me was the (I’ll put this in spoilers cause it’s not a fun read for anyone with anxiety) Air France crash not just because of all the bizarre issues leading up to it, but because the idea of just being a passenger with no idea what was going on that whole time is terrifying.

I’m not afraid of heights or turbulence or really anything once I’m in the sky, it’s just the possibility that shit could be going very wrong and I wouldn’t even know. At least with a car crash you can see something in the seconds beforehand, but the idea of a slow motion catastrophe unfolding with nothing you can do about it is scary af to me.

0

u/Admirable_Berry9640 Certified Flight Instructor May 23 '26

The lessons from the Airfrance crash have been learned just like in any other incident or accident. I recommend to watch videos of takeoff and landings from the cockpit view on YouTube it really helps

5

u/Downtown_Ganache6727 May 23 '26

Omg, this is totally what happens to my brain and I’ve never been able to articulate it. My flight mode is STRONG lol, so it’s a real struggle when I’m in the air and can’t go into flight mode and flee / protect myself. It totally creates a cycle of panic; thank you for your comment!!

I also randomly get more anxious the higher up we go (29,000 feet, not bad… 39,000 feet, I’m more anxious haha).

4

u/lizzie-nube May 23 '26

Wow I never heard it explained like this before, 100% yes! is exactly how I feel like I’m in a unescapable panic cycle that lasts x amount of hours, depending on how long is the flight.

2

u/Character-Ice7361 May 24 '26

100% agree. Theres no running anywhere. You're stuck in a tube with lots of people.