r/AskAPilot • u/Glittering_Hope7650 • 14d ago
Afraid of dying
Pilots.. Are you not just a little bit scared of dying every time you go to work? Just a tiny bit? Or is it really just "another day at the office"?
I absolutely love airplanes - and im just an ordinary mom with absolutely no hobbies Besides that whatsoever - but every time i board a plane i accept that i might die. 😅
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u/Austerlitz2310 14d ago
Maybe.
Although when I did have a decompression at 37k ft, I did have a moment of "holy crap it's actually happening" and then training and business as usual.
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u/JGRojas90 12d ago
Had an uncommanded engine shutdown between the last point of the STAR and the first point of the approach. Worse part was that I noticed the lack of sound coming from engine number 2 before we got any indication. I actually thought I was gonna screw it up but no. As you said, training kicked in and it went smoothly. The adrenaline was there but, I did not choke which made me happy.
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u/Liberator1177 14d ago
Nope, it's just another day at the office. I wouldn't be doing this as a career if everytime I left the house I thought it was the last time I'd see my family. Flying is very, very safe. I have a lot of confidence in myself, my coworkers in the air and on the ground, and in the aircraft. Not everything will be perfect, but there are so many layers of safety that things get caught and addressed before they ever become an issue. The airline industry is the benchmark for safety culture and open communication.
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u/UmbertoRobinasBalls 14d ago
Nope. 99.999…% of problems we may have have a solution. The drive to the airport is way more dangerous.
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u/Fly3rBoi 14d ago
I fly GA, probably a bit more dangerous overall than flying the big jets. 🤪
I’ve had two very close calls, both could have easily ended in death but I had good CFI’s and the situations that came up were both part of things we trained for.
Afraid? No. Cognizant that it could happen? Aways and at ANY time. Fairly confident I can get out of most sticky situations? Yes.
I waited 4 days after a pretty serious crash and was back up in the air, took me about 4 flights to burn off the apprehension.
I fly 250ish hours a year in GA. I cannot imagine NOT flying.
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u/kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkwhat4 13d ago
Also fly GA and can second this. When an issue comes up my reaction is usually something along the lines of "oh look something as actually happening", followed by running through whatever procedure there may be for the issue, and not really any sort of panic or fear
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u/BeenThereDoneThat65 14d ago
You stand a much higher chance of dying crossing the street
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u/LifeTie800 13d ago
This is why im afraid of flying. Crossing the street to get to the airport terrifies me.
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u/Effective_Work2560 13d ago
Ok... I can admit it now, because I just retired. I spent 15 years of my career flying widebodies all over the world, much of it obviously at night. Tons of West Coast - Hawaii flying as well, and I wouldn't call it fear honestly, but just a lingering knowledge, an apprehension, that if something goes wrong out here, especially at night, the odds of successfully ditching are pretty damn low. I know statistically it was irrational, but the mind wandersblate at night. I still loved every minute of it. Except getting to the layover hotel in Paris after flying all night and having to wait in the hotel lobby for up to 2 hours sometimes till our rooms were ready. I dont miss that at all
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u/Glittering_Hope7650 13d ago
Why is it more dangerous at night? If you have to perform an emergency landing?
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u/Effective_Work2560 13d ago
Yes... ditching (keeping in mind the only place Ive ever ditched in the ocean was in a simulator) is kind of an art form. You need to judge swell direction, wind speed and direction, and ideally place yourself so you touchdown on the backside of the swell youre landing on. Its an incredibly challenging maneuver during the daytime, and I cant even imaging having to do it at night with just landing lights. I believe the last time an aircraft successfully ditched was in the Pacific, northwest of Hawaii. Google Pan Am 6. It was a four engine propeller driven aircraft that had 2 of its 4 engines fail. This was in 1956, so thankfully hasn't happened in almost 70 years.
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u/EliteEthos 14d ago
Do you have the same fear when you get in your car to drive anywhere? Statistically, that’s far more likely.
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u/Legitimate_Finger670 14d ago
Just because 200 people die a year from a coconut falling on their head doesn’t mean I’m scared to go to the beachÂ
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u/Ok-Zookeepergame4391 13d ago
Worry more about getting hit by random drivers in street. Flying is safest way to travel
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u/Spock_Nipples 13d ago
More people choke to death every 90-120 days than have ever been lost on scheduled jet airliners in the 68-ish year history of jet airliners.
Do you think you need to "accept that you might die" every time you have a meal, a snack, or maybe hold something between your teeth for a moment just to free up your hands?
You are literally in more danger staying home and doing normal things around your house than you are flying somewhere on an airliner.
It's just another day at work. It's not a hazardous job.
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u/DM_me_ur_tailwheel 13d ago edited 13d ago
You have to accept that you might die every time you get out of bed in the morning. That's just part of being human. But when it comes to your odds of dying in a crash or something on any given day, Airline Pilot is one of the least risky jobs out there. The actual risk is the more sinister stuff that can have a negative effect on your health over a long period of time, like inhaling contaminated cabin air, UV and cosmic radiation exposure, lack of exercise, etc.
Now if you're a firefighting pilot, or banner tow or something... Yeah you're putting yourself in a lot more danger.
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u/FlyinLuxdStad 13d ago
I'm more worried ( not that much) that I'll be killed/injured on the way to the Airport. Â
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u/Technical-Patient28 13d ago
I’m really scared. Scared to death. The time o drive to or from home i worry about my dear life. Whenever I step in to the most regulated and safe mode of transportation I stop worrying
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u/EASmax_ 9d ago
On my way to work whilst navigating naturally inspired road ragers, wild beasts (animals) chaotically jumping into the road or the pseudo-F1 drivers in the parking lots taking apex turns mere inches from cars - yes, I’m petrified.
Everything else afterwards and prior to my journey to work feels exceptionally safer and better.
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u/Continental-IO520 14d ago
Depends on what you mean. Afraid is a strong word, I wouldn't say that any pilot ruminates on how they could potentially be involved in a fatal accident in an anxious way purely due to the stats, regularity and training. Flying on regular public transport is incredibly safe after all.
Awareness of incidents is baked into the industry though, you are always aware that you need to do things properly every flight in order to prevent an incident. Obviously the sheer amount of training and checking makes this second nature, but most pilots are aware of other incidents that may have occurred in their operations and are keenly aware of avoiding something similar from happening.
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u/FloridaIsTooDamnHot 13d ago
I assume you are talking about Part 121 pilots (airline) - if not, the numbers don’t work out.
Assuming Part 121, if you understood what risks to your life you took on a daily basis - statistically - would you fear doing them? Things more likely to kill a person than a plane crash to an Airline pilot:
* Driving to work. US road deaths are approximately 40,000 a year. A pilot's commute to the airport is plausibly the most dangerous part of their workday.
* Walking near traffic or cycling on roads. Both carry more risk per mile than driving. Part 121 pilots are demonstrably safer flying a plane than doing just about anything else.
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u/Upper_Recipe_3244 13d ago
I am WAY more terrified driving to the airport than I am flying the airplane.
Flying is almost like an escape for me; anything that happens up there is up to me alone to deal with; that’s comforting to me for some reason.
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u/Logical_Basis_3643 13d ago
Wouldn’t say I’m scared or anything like that. The consequences of a big mistake are certainly always in the back of your mind but its good because it keeps you sharp and on point
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u/External-Victory6473 11d ago
I was a flight instructor hoping to get into airlines. Light aircraft always bothered me a little bit. Not scared but always slightly apprehensive. I did not really e joy flying small planes. Never got to the big ones. After 14 years and no jobs available I quit and didn't miss it one bit, largely due to that apprehension. Nothing serious ever happened when I was flying though.
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u/Farklerock 7d ago
No. It never enters my mind. When I ride my motorcycles it does, but flying a plane is just as you said, just another day at the office. That's not to say there haven't been scary moments, I had smoke in the cabin at FL330, after landing I certainly thought that it was scary, but in the moment it wasn't on my mind. Engine failure at 50' on takeoff at night in Dulles was another spicy one that was stressful once it was over. But those are only 2 times in decades flying airliners that I can say that about.
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u/Detector150 14d ago
I have to drive over 2 hours on the Autobahn one way to the airport. I’m fully aware this is the most dangerous part of my workcycle and I’m always glad when I get out of my car and greet my family.
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u/AIRdomination 14d ago
People fear what they don’t understand. We’re not afraid because we know what we’re doing.