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Free Group Phone Counseling With Capt Tom Wednesday 10 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time
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when asked, enter the conference ID 9352101 followed by the # sign
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Video Of An A-340 Flight
A client send this video link which shows an Airbus A-340 takeoff at Lima. The captain describes the procedure which calls for turning west out over the water to climb up to an altitude higher than the mountains east of Lima, and then turning back to the east to head toward the Canary Islands. He also discusses his flying experiences in different planes.
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Cabin Doors
From time to time, there is a report that claims someone tried to open a door during a flight. Doors are like a cork in a bottle, the more they are pushed on, the tighter they fit. Pressurized air in the cabin produces far more force on the door that anyone can overcome. For example, during cruise, the pressurization is approximately seven pounds per square inch. A six foot by three foot door would have 2592 square inches of area. With 7 pounds of pressure on each of those square inches, the force keeping the door closed is 18,144 pounds.
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Current Security
Before 9/11, security was a joke. The people doing the screening tasks were paid minimum wage. The turnover was high, so those working had little experience. With the high turnover, they received little training. But the public accepted it because our experience in the U.S. was that occasionally someone would hijack a plane to Cuba. The plane returned, and nothing much came of it.
The pilots' union had asked the FAA repeatedly for secure cockpit doors. The FAA blew us off saying we didn't want them because in case of a crash, the secure doors might jam due to damage, and trap us in the cockpit.
After 9/11, all that changed. We got the doors. We got screeners who were paid well. Many had prior experience in law enforcement.
It is possible when considering the news to get the impression that security is not as good as it was before 9/11. The opposite is true.
The pilots' union had asked the FAA repeatedly for secure cockpit doors. The FAA blew us off saying we didn't want them because in case of a crash, the secure doors might jam due to damage, and trap us in the cockpit.
After 9/11, all that changed. We got the doors. We got screeners who were paid well. Many had prior experience in law enforcement.
It is possible when considering the news to get the impression that security is not as good as it was before 9/11. The opposite is true.
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Accidents In Other Parts Of The World
In the news recently are accidents involving Iran Air and Ethiopian Airlines. Again, I remind readers that accidents in some other parts of the world have no bearing on how safe it is to fly in the U.S. or in other countries that have advanced technology.
I decided to go to the site run by former Boeing safety engineer Todd Curtis, Ph.D. and see which airlines have the worst safety record, and to compare them with the rates for U.S. airlines. The numbers indicate the accident rate per million flights.
Air Zimbabwe 11.54
Royal Jordanian 7.99
EgyptAir 7.60
China Airlines (Taiwan) 7.16
Air India 4.89
Pakistan International Airlines 4.55
Ethiopian Airlines 4.06
Iran Air 3.72
Turkish Airlines 3.60
I decided to go to the site run by former Boeing safety engineer Todd Curtis, Ph.D. and see which airlines have the worst safety record, and to compare them with the rates for U.S. airlines. The numbers indicate the accident rate per million flights.
Air Zimbabwe 11.54
Royal Jordanian 7.99
EgyptAir 7.60
China Airlines (Taiwan) 7.16
Air India 4.89
Pakistan International Airlines 4.55
Ethiopian Airlines 4.06
Iran Air 3.72
Turkish Airlines 3.60
In the U.S. and Canada, most airlines have a rate of between 0.17 and 0.40. In Europe, British Airways, Lufthansa, and SAS have similar rates. This means the airlines most readers take have accident rates between ten and sixty times better than the the airlines listed above.
The way the mind is supposed to work needs to be explained at this point. When you learned to drive a car, it wasn't easy. You had to struggle through the steps. But in time, unconscious procedural memory absorbed the steps and they were stored in the sub-cortex of your mind. Now when you drive, the sub-cortex pretty much does it for you. You don't have to think about steering and adjusting the speed; you do it pretty much on autopilot.
But if some other car threatens you, your amygdala releases a bit of stress hormone. The hormone wakes up your cortex, where high level thinking is done. The pre-frontal cortex is your mental executive suite, and it is in charge of figuring out what to do about the threat. The first thing it does is turn off the autopilot; whatever you were doing on automatic, as directed by the sub-cortex, is stopped to keep from making matters worse. Instantly, the cortex comes up with a solution and you take whatever action you need to take to avoid an accident.
As you have heard, there are a lot of accidents caused when people talk on cellphones or text when driving. That is because the cortex is already busy when the stress hormones tell it to deal with a non-routine situation. To deal with more than one thing at a time, the cortex has to prioritize. It has to decide which is more important, deal with it, and then deal with the less important. As you can see from the accidents, a lot of people have a pre-frontal cortex which doesn't do a good job of prioritizing.
Which brings us back to fear of flying. Accidents by leading airlines are so rare that most people dismiss the risk as not worth considering. But an anxious person has poor executive functioning. The anxious person is unable to prioritize and think about what risks are important and what risks are minor. Why? Because of absolutist thinking. When people have grown up in families where there is only "right or wrong", "good or bad", and "safe or unsafe", they are not able to recognize the oversimplification. Everything that is not absolutely safe is unsafe. And if there is not absolute control of risks, there is danger. Thus, due to the handicap imposed by thinking in absolute categories, anxiety arises because the person cannot dismiss minor risks and focus on important risks. All risks seem the same.
For example, if I took an anxious flier and a confident flier to an airport and said, "Look at this plane. It crashes once in 3,000,000 flights. But this one crashes once in 7,000,000 flights. And that one crashes once in 16,000,000 flights," The confident flier would say, "OK. I know which one I want to be one; I want to fly the one that crashes just once in 16,000,000. And when I fly on it, that accident rate is so good I can dismiss the risk as insignificant and think about other things."
But the anxious flier would think, "It doesn't matter which one I fly, it is going to crash." This is because none of the planes are perfect, and with the absolutist thinking, "anything that is not perfect and anything that is not absolutely controlled, is dangerous and if I do it, I will probably die." With poor executive function, the anxious person cannot dismiss any risk as insignificant. If they fly, they will be able to think of nothing else but crashing, unless they can keep their executive function busy thinking about other things. That works except during turbulence. When there is turbulence, it intrudes into their faulty executive function, and reminds them that they are on a plane that is not absolutely safe, and thus they are in great danger.
We can change that. If you want to be able to fly without such distress, we can make that possible. But only if you take the initiative. You will never see more than a small part of the world unless you start sometime to deal with flight anxiety. Do you have a better time in mind than now?
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"Nervous Just Driving Past An Airport"
Hi Capt. Tom,
I just wanted to write you because I have struggled with an extreme fear of flying for the last 13 years, after what I thought was a "bad" flight over Denver in a thunderstorm. The fear was so extreme that I would get nervous just driving past an airport, or even seeing a commercial airliner in the sky!
This caused me to avoid flying unless completely unavoidable, and even when forced to there were a few times where I would get off the plane just before they closed the door because I just couldn't do it. I've passed up vacations all over the world due to this crippling fear, and after being offered a trip to the Bahamas I just couldn't pass it up. So I booked the trip, 6 months ago and the intense anxiety began as soon as I received my confirmation...I even had nightmares up to 2 months before the trip!
After deciding that I wasn't going to suffer through another flight, I found your program and ordered the Take Me Along, and How Flying Works mp3's. I listened to them religiously, and even practiced the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise in everyday situations that would get me stressed. Well, we went on our trip last week--and I have to say, I've never been so calm on a flight! Of course the anticipatory anxiety was still there, but I had 3 flights--and even in turbulence listening to your program kept me feeling at ease! I can't thank you enough for this program and what you've done to help those of us who were so limited by our fear. I'm not 'cured', but SO happy that I can finally be somewhat comfortable (instead of crying) on a plane...I'm already trying to decide where I want to go next!
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SOAR Will Work For You Too
SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed that 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.
- Call me at 877 332-7359 between 10 AM and 6 PM Eastern time or
- Set up a time online at http://soar.genbook.com
- No Charge. No Obligation. Just get the information you want.
Or Enroll Right Now And Get This Over With
You will feel better as soon as you make the decision.
You will feel better as soon as you make the decision.
- Accelerated courses give you the most help possible in the time you have available.
- A twenty-minute private session and unlimited group counseling sessions are included.
- What you pay is 100% transferable to the SOAR Video Course 11 DVDs.
Start viewing on your computer screen in two minutes.
- Get a compact version of the SOAR Course.
- Load it on your laptop, iPod or other media player. More info.
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Unsure 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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Patrick Is Fed Up With American Hysteria
"When," Patrick asks, "did we become such a nation of scaredy-cats?" Hermann Goering believed that any nation can be made into a nation of scaredy-cats. He said, "Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
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An iPhone App
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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)
You'll reach me easily. The toll-free number rings my cell phone.
Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)
You'll reach me easily. The toll-free number rings my cell phone.
- find out how I can help you with flying
- discuss the possibility of a counseling session
- set up a time that fits your schedule
Outside the U.S. and Canada call 203 258-4803
- a twenty-minute session is $60.00 if not enrolled in a course.
- one twenty-minute session is free if enrolled in any course.
- additional twenty-minute sessions are $60.00.
- two one-hour sessions are included in the SOAR Guaranteed Program
Schedule An Individual Session Online
Note: Times Listed Are Eastern Time (same as New York)
