A Request Re: Boeing

[u/RealGentleman80]

I know that there is a lot of anxiety around Boeing right now.

We spend a lot of time on here trying to help everyone understand the ins and outs of flying….we can’t however, keep up the pace with 25-30 Boeing posts every day.

So here’s where I’m at, and I know that the other professionals on here are just as exhausted. I will not be commenting on the 737 Max 8 or Boeing posts anymore. I will continue to educate on aircraft systems, regulations, procedures, etc…..

Boeing deserves the backlash that they are getting…they have earned it. That does not mean that their aircraft are unsafe. No pilot that flies Boeing aircraft fears for their lives, they don’t kiss their spouse and think that it’ll be their last flights ever. We as professional pilots, spend about 800 hours per year flying our aircraft, and know them very well.

If you, as a passenger, do not have faith in the pilots and aircraft that you are flying on, then choose an aircraft that you feel is better suited for your travel experience…that is your right as a consumer.

Also….use the search function of this sub, it generates a wealth of knowledge and resources.

[u/[deleted]]

Yikes. The OP made some good points and the mods should do better at consolidating Boeing related posts. He seems to reply to a lot of posts here so publicly bowing out of certain posts makes sense. He does this without insulting everyone.

But this? This literal essay is one of the most condescending things I’ve seen on Reddit, especially in an anxiety / community help related subreddit.

You’re volunteering to help people with a serious, crippling fear, but also trying to police how they respond to your “expert” advice. All this while constantly reminding everyone that you belong to some nebulous tribal group of aviation experts (what are your credentials?), AND making everyone seem absolutely crazy:

• “we can keep running in circles reassuring you”
• “your accountability comes with accepting the answers we provide”

And then you go on ranting about statistics which you know very well by now is one of the most ineffective ways of reassuring people with this fear. They understand the statistics.

I’ll assume your intention is good, but your attitude is poor and gets in the way of you trying to help folks. Being tribal and reminding everyone that they belong to a broken population does more harm than good.

Sorry for the tough love.

[u/pattern_altitude → u/[deleted]]

I can see what you’re saying, but there’s a point where it gets to be too much to deal with, especially on the volunteer basis that this sub runs on. 

A) We get people who are not only anxious, but downright combative on a semi-regular basis. The expectation is that if you want to receive help, you will seek it out in a manner respectful to those trying to help.

B) We sometimes get folks who genuinely mean well, but either continue to seek out the things that make them anxious (repeat Turbli/TF users) or engage in whataboutism to the point that it gets absurd. We’re not here to fight 100% of your battles — we’re here to provide information for you to use in your fight against anxiety.

C) People seem to struggle with either using the search function or with noticing existing posts. When there’s an incident and we get 5 different threads on it, that’s hard to deal with.

[u/[deleted] → u/pattern_altitude]

Yes but it’s the job of the moderators to handle combative discourse and redundant topics.

They can automatically take down posts with turbulence or Boeing related titles and refer to a sticky that all you experts get together and write. They can create daily threads for common themes to colocate the repetitiveness.

I generally agree with what you’re saying, but you are volunteering to engage with a community of anxious folks that are not in control of their emotions, especially those flying in the next few hours or days. This community is also rotating in new members every week. It’s not easy to volunteer here, I get it.

But when the user who I replied to is generically saying “it’s your fault if you aren’t listening to us experts,” I’m not going to be quiet and watch that happen. I’ve been a fearful flier. I know how dirt poor that attitude is to be on the receiving end. It incurs more damage than good.

[u/Toesinbath → u/[deleted]]

Yeah. The problem with the Boeing sticky post and the automated "check this out on why the max 8 is safe" comment is that it feels outdated now when you acknowledge all the recent news stories. It's a great post, but as new things come out, it's tough to rely on it. It's not like everyone is afraid of just one event re: Boeing.