Why do people get nervous when they fly?

@2scents
What if that same pilot with all that flying experience and training were to offer you a ride in a small plane, would you take it. My flight instructor was in the Israeli Air Force for ten years, flight instructor for 30, and has trained many airline pilots (many El- Al pilots), and still people are scared to fly with him.

@DovidBT
In addition to renewing your medical certificate every five years, every 2 once your 40, you also have to take a flight review. Its basically another flying lesson with a flight instructor, in which he makes sure you are up do date with all of the maneuvers, straight and level, stalls, slow flight, emergency procedures etc.

You also need to do 3 takeoffs and landings every 90 days in order to fly passengers.

So basically to sum everything up, people don’t understand anything about general aviation. Because they don’t understand it, they view it with apprehension and even downright fear. Then they try to rationalize this fear by convincing everyone its dangerous.

@GRATEFULBLAC
I don’t know if all this will help but…
Something probably made you nervous to fly.
Perhaps your previous flight had some turbulence which might have made you uncomfortable enough to not want to fly again. Maybe there was a plane crash on the news. It could have been anything.
Research what every bump and noise during a flight is, landing gear, flaps, change in engine power etc.
Look up all the difference types of turbulence there is, and see that it is almost impossible for a large airliner to go down because of turbulence. Maybe even look up different airline accidents, see the cause, and what response airlines took to make sure it never happens again.
I know someone that had a phobia of flying. One flight they met one of their pilots and he explained everything (above) to him. Since then he is a lot more comfortable flying, and even enjoys it.

If the brakes fail on the highway during traffic or by a red light, most people will crash, and depending on the speed of the car it will be fatal. Nobody practices these if any emergencies in a car. Some people know what to do, but if c”v something does happen, they will panic and crash.
By planes, if something breaks, there is always time to react. Even if something happens, c”v, pilots trained for it.
We simulate engine failure all the time. My instructor pulled the throttle at random times, takeoff, landing, during climb out, and random times during the flight. Throughout my flights I always look out for places to land, just in case.
Pilots also practice stalls. Many also practice spins.
There is a major difference between planes and cars.

Yes, phobias are irrational, but they can be conquered. Most people who have phobias of flying, if they go flying in a small plane, and they get put in front of the controls, the phobia disappears. I know someone who does this all the time, and he has a 90% success rate.

Fun fact: I have a fear of heights. If I go on the third step of a ladder, I start panicking and start freezing up.
It has never affected me in a plane, even during stalls or spins.

@MTG
I’m more afraid of turbulence than actually flying.

There is nothing dangerous with turbulence. Only a few rare times has it actually caused injuries. There are many different types of turbulence, and only a few can actually do damage. Wherever any of these types are, (usually around thunderstorms) pilots stay far away. Otherwise turbulence is just annoying. Think about a boat on water. Boats can ride pretty big waves, without suffering any damage. Turbulence is just a “wave” of wind. The plane might move up and down, sometimes even pretty fast, but its not dangerous.

A plane flying is dependent on the angle of attack (AOA) as @dovidbt said. The faster the airspeed, the AOA decreases, as do the chances of stalling. The slower the airspeed, AOA increases, increasing the chance of a stall. If the AOA increases more than 18 degrees, a plane will stall even with its nose down.
If a plane is flying downwind at an airspeed of 80kts, and the wind is 35kts, assuming the plane has a stall speed of 50kts, the plane will stall unless more power is added. That’s why its important to plan ahead and know the wind direction/speed before the flight.

Or think of a surfer in a wave pool. As long as the water is moving towards him fast enough, he stays afloat, even though to an observer he appears stationary. As the water slows, it becomes harder and he eventually sinks.

Do you finish it when you land:)

B”H I never experienced wake turbulence. I was told that if you are high enough and seat belted, it can be quite a shock but not dangerous. You will just do a few rolls in the air until you regain control.
If a boat flips, I’m sure the outcome is very different.

So flying is safer than boats too.
It seems that flying is the safest mode of travel.

Another great example of a pilot able to pull off the impossible because he kept his cool. if he would’ve panicked and tried to land at an airport, the results could’ve c”v been worse than 9/11.
B”H there were no fatalities.

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ as Passenger Flight Safely Lands on Water in NYC [DRAMATIC FOOTAGE]

@knaidlach
I highly doubt that is the reason people are nervous to fly. The mask is extremely simple to use. Before every flight the flight attendants preform a demonstration.
There is only need for oxygen if the flight will be above 14500 ft. Many general aviation aircraft are not pressurized so if you fly that high you need to bring supplemental oxygen.
Therefore, since there is no “mask” needed on a general aviation plane, people should not be nervous to fly.