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The SOAR Library -- Open And Free



Articles for you on aviation and flight anxiety are at www.fearofflying.com/wordpress/


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You Might Think I Know Lots Of Crash Survivors

You might think that, since I work with thousands of people who are fearful of flying that many of them would have been in crashes. And, you might think that after working with people who are fearful of flying, and getting the flying, that several of them might be subsequently in a crash.


But, no. A few days ago, Time Magazine writer and author Amanda Ripley asked me for the names of plane crash survivors she could interview for an upcoming project. Amanda had just finished a cover story for Time Magazine on Obama. See this link.



I emailed her back that none of my clients have been involved in crashes simply because crashes are so incredibly rare!



But, I told her, I would put a note here in the newsletter that she is hoping to find at least one or two she can interview, hopefully locally in the New York area. If you know anyone, please email Amanda at ripley15@yahoo.com



She hopes to find people willing to share their story in hopes of teaching others some valuable lessons about what to expect.



My view of it is, however, that there really isn't anything to expect other than that your plane will get there fine. To expect anything else -- once you engage in expectation a few times -- is going to cause that expectation to be stored in your mind as if it is a memory! That causes you a lot of trouble. Why? Because when you are actively expecting or actively imagining, you are aware that you are actively producing that expectation or imagination. But after you have done that a few times, the part of your brain that stores memories stores what you expect or what you imagine as a memory. This means it is stored just as something that has actually happened is stored.



But there is a nasty twist; it is stored as a memory, but it is also stored as something that has yet to happen. In other words, since it is stored as a memory, and it is stored as something that has not happened yet, it is stored as a "memory of the future"; in other words, it is an omen. It is important for you to understand that omens are produced -- not by some force out there in the universe -- but BY YOU. Omens are always created by the individual, but the individual -- not recognizing the process by which he or she has created the omen -- naturally thinks it means something. People tell me they just know that if they get on the plane, it will crash.



A dog chases its tail only because it thinks the tail belongs to some other dog that is running away. It doesn't know it is its own tail. The power of the tail -- or tale -- is in not knowing it is your own.



My recommendation is that you do not engage in expectation and that you do not engage in fantasy and that you do not engage in imagination of crashing. I recommend this for one simple reason. Engaging in that activity will -- in a very short time -- cause you to memorize what you produce. Once you memorize it, when it comes to mind, it comes to mind without the earmarks of something you are producing or that you have produced; rather it will come to mind as if it exists on its own in reality.



Once it has that kind of mental existence, you will become obsessed with it as something that is going to happen unless you have absolute control of some means to stop it. And, the only means you know to stop it is not to fly. Thus, once you have created the omen in your own mind, taking a flight means giving up the only way you know to stop it (to not fly). To take a flight seems insane. Anticipatory anxiety builds because you are sure you are going to the death you see in your "future memory".



If you already have a "future memory", look back at the steps you employed to create it. Recall the many times you engaged in expectation of a crash, or imagination of a crash. As you engaged in expectation, you -- unwittingly -- recorded expectation. You turned expectation into memory. This "memory of the future" is total fabrication; your fabrication. If you can go back and recall unwittingly fabricating the memory, you may be able to deconstruct the fabrication process and -- to some degree -- deconstruct the omen.



If you are unable to deconstruct it, try to understand that when you have the feeling that you are sure the plane will crash, you are dealing fantasy made to seem real through repetition.



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American Airlines Incident


Two weeks ago, an American Airlines flight that had an air conditioning system access panel come off during flight. Since the flight continued safely to its destination, some have accused the captain of recklessness. Though a person who is insecure about flying can easily see this as thretening, anyone who knows how flying works understands that what the crew did is correct.


The plane is fully instrumented. If there is a safety problem, it will show up on the instruments. Since loss of a panel is not a safety problem, panels are not connected to the instrument in the cockpit.



When alerted to the noise by flight attendants, the pilots contacted the dispatch center at American's headquarters in Dallas which connected them to the maintenance center in Tulsa.


There were no indications in the cockpit, no warning lights or airframe vibrations felt.The crew had three hours to judge the situation before they reached the ocean. There was never any danger.


Access panels are frequently opened and closed on the ground to service the plane. Sometimes due to wear of the fasteners and sometimes due to failure of the person closing the panel to do the job right, panels come off a plane. I don't recall a single instance in which that caused the plane to crash. That history, in my view, proves the captain made the right decision after extensive consultation with maintenance and engineering experts before making the decision.



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International Air Transport Association Report



See this link for full story.



"Air travel is the safest mode of
transportation. In the ten years from 1998, the accident rate was
reduced by almost half, from 1.34 accidents per million flights to
0.75. And the number of fatalities dropped significantly in 2007.
That's good news. But our goal is always to do better: zero fatalities
and zero accidents," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General
and CEO.



Were it not for accidents in third world countries, the
record would be far better. Thus, IATA is
working to help airlines in undeveloped areas improve safety.



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Videos On YouTube



Our videos are at http://youtube.com/user/CaptTomBunn.



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Posted On The Message Board



Hi,



I wanted to quickly share my story and hope it helps anyone out there who's considering taking the course.



I had a couple of bad flights in the summer and fall of 2006, but my worst ones were in December of that year on a very short flight from LAX to Las Vegas. The outgoing flight was so bad I considered taking the bus back, or renting a car one way. But I braved the return flight, which was such a horrible experience I was never as happy as that day when the plane touched ground. I wrote off my flying days as OVER. This coming from someone who used to LOVE flying, considered it part of the trip or vacation, not just the means to get there. I lived in Japan for a year after college, traveled to Thailand, China, went to Europe 3 times in the span of 2 years, Australia via New Zealand, on and on and on. For this to happen to someone like ME was incomprehensible.



My very concerned and understanding boyfriend was the one who actually found the fearofflying.com website (he was the one who had to hold my clammy hand for 45 minutes and talk my ear off about Motorcycles in an effort to distract me), and I'd put off ordering the program for fear it wouldn't work and I'd truly be grounded for life. But I finally ordered it and after 3 weeks of watching the videos and practicing the Strengthening Exercise diligently, I took my first flight in 16 months to the very place that started it all - Las Vegas. I was so proud of myself and couldn't believe I was actually on a plane again. Three days later I was on a plane again to visit my niece in San Francisco. No more 6 hour drives!



I just am so glad to have life back, literally. I almost still can't believe I've flown 4 times in a week. It's not perfect yet, my pre-flight Anxiety was terrible the first time, and I did the 5,4,3,2,1 exercise like crazy. It truly feels like a leap of faith to believe that all that anxiety won't lead to a melt-down when you are actually on the plane, but it doesn't. I'm hoping to fine-tune some more bits and pieces of my anxiety (which is entirely based on feelings of claustrophobia, loss of control, panic -- luckily, I couldn't care less about turbulence).



So, to anyone out there lurking on the board like I did for more than a year, it works!



Thank you Captain Tom for changing yet another person's life - mine :-) Sorry to be so corny, but I truly mean it and appreciate that you have put this program out there.



Thank you!



To see the original post, go to this link.



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You, Too, Can Fix The Flying Problem Now

Get started with the program that works. SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed which could help people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No matter how difficult flying is for you, we can help.



Full Length Course



We have the full length SOAR Video Course on 11 DVDs and we have the accelerated FastTrack course. The full length course provides the maximum help possible. More info.


FastTrack



FastTrack is for you if you have a flight coming up soon, even tomorrow! It includes three hours of the most important video clips from the full length course. More FastTrack info.


Get started now. The SOAR FastTrack program can be on your computer's screen in two minutes.



  • Fast Track is inexpensive.

  • Fast Track gives you the most help possible in the shortest time.

  • A twenty-minute private session and unlimited group counseling sessions are included.


  • What you pay for Fast Track is 100% transferable to the complete SOAR Course DVD or CD.


iPod Or Other Media Players

Complete a compact (about five hours) version of the SOAR Course on the go. Download it to your computer. Play it on your computer, iPod or other media player. More info.


Which To Choose


If you are unsure which is best for you, please call me at 877 332-7359 so we can talk it over. You will feel better as soon as you decide to act.


We are always here to help. As you go through the program, call or email whenever you have a question or a concern.


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One Of The Best Sites



AirSafe.com is run by Dr. Todd Curtis, PhD., a former airline safety analyst with Boeing. Todd thoroughly analyzes safety data and presents statistics on his web site which can help you choose an airline wisely.



Todd will be happy to send you information of aviation safety. Subscribe to his service at www.airsafe.com/services/subscribe.htm
and you will receive tips such as this one below:



AIRSAFE.COM'S TOP 10 AIRLINE SAFETY TIPS



1. Fly on Nonstop
Routings

Most accidents occur during the takeoff, climb, descent, and
landing phase of flight so flying nonstop would reduce exposure to these
most accident prone phases of flight.



2. Choose Larger Aircraft


Currently, aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats were all designed
and certified under the strictest regulations. Also, in the unlikely
event of a serious accident, larger aircraft provide a better opportunity
for passenger survival.



3. Pay Attention to the Preflight Briefing


Although the information seems repetitious, the locations of the closest
emergency exits may be different depending on the aircraft that you fly
on and seat you are in.



4. Keep the Overhead Storage Bin Free of
Heavy Articles

Overhead storage bins may not be able to hold very heavy
objects during turbulence, so if you or another passenger have trouble
lifting an article into the bin, have it stored elsewhere.



5. Keep
Your Seat Belt Fastened While You are Seated

Keeping the belt on when you
are seated provides that extra protection you might need if the plane hits
unexpected turbulence.



6. Listen to the Flight Attendants

The
primary reason flight attendants are on an aircraft is for safety, so if one
of them asks you to do something like fasten your seat belts, do it first
and ask questions later.



7. Don't Bring Any Hazardous Material

There
are rather long lists of hazardous materials that are not allowed, but
common sense should tell you that you shouldn't bring gasoline, corrosives,
poisonous gases, and other such items on the aircraft unless they were
allowed by the airline and shipped in a proper container.



8. Let the
Flight Attendant Pour Your Hot Drinks

Flight attendants are trained to
handle hot drinks like coffee or tea in a crowded aisle on a moving
aircraft, so allow them to pour the drink and hand it too you.



9.
Don't Drink Too Much

The atmosphere in an airliner cabin is pressurized to
about the same altitude as Denver, so any alcohol you consume will affect
you more strongly than at sea level. Moderation is a good policy at any
altitude.



10. Keep Your Wits About You

In the unlikely event that
you are involved in an emergency situation such as a precautionary emergency
evacuation, follow the directions of the flight attendants and flight crew
and exit the aircraft as quickly as possible.

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Patrick's Column



Patrick's excellent column this week is about runway incursions. Read it at this link.

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My Letter To Patrick About His Column



Hi Patrick,



Just re-read the story about the collision between Pan Am and KLM. I always marvel at your writing skills!



Re: The FAA has been working fast and furiously on developing new programs and technologies that will reduce the number of mistakes, and/or mitigate the consequences when they occur.



My understanding is this: the FAA has been saying runway incursions are their number one priority. The problem is, they have been saying that for as long as I can remember. And if that is their number one priority -- and no success now for fifteen or more years -- what the hell happens to their second priority!



They say they are "studying" the problem. Interesting. Did the Brits break the code long enough ago that "studying" simply means "stonewalling"? How long ago? Again, I started flying into LHR in 1965, and I can't swear to it, but I don't remember a time when LHR didn't have lights imbedded in the taxiways to lead planes to the hold point of the runway. Nor can I remember when LHR didn't have a row of red lights at the holding point (or intermediary holding points) to give a universally understood indication that you stop at that point. You know what taxi instructions are like at ORD; you have to know in advance what the controller is going to say in order to see if it is what you expect. At LHR, you may simply be told, when asking for taxi clearance, "Follow the greens." Thank you. It is like Wizard of Oz: follow the yellow brick road. Simple enough. Or do we need more study?



More recently the FAA has farmed out priority number one to private companies who are willing to put their own cash into developing a program, betting that the FAA will buy their system. Not odds I would spring for, which may explain why so little is being done.



Patrick, you add, "These include an upgrade of tarmac markings . . . ." But are you aware that this is about the umpteenth time the FAA has "upgraded" the markings, and on of the byproducts has been greater -- not lesser -- confusion, partly through mixing the new "standard" signs with the old "standard" signs, and partly through . . . well, Emerson said it, "Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of lesser minds" . . . such as changing the designation at ORD from "outer taxiway" and "inner taxiway" to something like "A" or "B" and then you have to translate THAT into the simply and intuitive (may FAA thinkers use IBMs, even ones without Windows) terms "outer" and "inner".



Real pilots think "visually". So EVERYTHING spoken has to be translated from word-based logic (left brain sequential) to visual-based logic (right brain, imagery, maps for example). So the FAA's "upgrades" all too often mean "degrades".



On the second issue, new-hire experience; I told my sons to forget aviation as a career; it is too unstable. When there were a lot of highly trained pilots leaving the military, the airlines were the beneficiary of the equivalent of hiring PhD-level pilots to serve as copilots. The airlines don't get to have the military do their training for them anymore, and so the pilots who the airlines hire are pilots who paid for their own training.



It is NOT a smart bet for any intelligent young adult to plunk down his or her own money to get a license and then go to work for the kind of pay airlines offer. We are no longer getting the best and the brightest looking for airline work; they are looking at investment banking and hedge fund management and law.



How is this going to play out? Well, it may work. After all, flying an airplane is not rocket science. It is very simple, really. The main thing is to have judgement enough to not screw up, and that doesn't take a 140 IQ but the same sort of thinking that any high school quarterback is capable of.



Let's just how it is the high school quarterbacks who try aviation -- not the water-boys.



Yours truly,



Tom



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Discuss Or Schedule An Individual Session -- Call 877 332-7359



Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)



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