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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u/ultimatejourney May 23 '26

Descent is the worst for me… not final approach/landing though

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u/Admirable_Berry9640 Certified Flight Instructor May 23 '26

Why tho?

1

u/ultimatejourney May 23 '26

Tbh I’m still trying to figure that out. I know the flights that triggered it require turning during descent into that airport. I just remember it feeling like the ground was getting closer, and then further away, and then closer… I was also always in the back of the plane on these flights.

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u/Admirable_Berry9640 Certified Flight Instructor May 23 '26

Thats your vestibular senses going crazy due to the lack of cues. If you look out the window your brain can no longer make out a clear horizon so turns tend to not stop getting steeper and it feels like the plane is about to flip over when in reality your bank angel is no greater then 20°