Overcome Your Fear of Flying With This Knowledge

For many passengers, the vacation begins on the plane. For other travelers, it's not so easy. They experience each flight as a test of courage. It doesn't have to be that way. There are good tools to combat the fear of flying.

Being aware of why turbulence doesn't harm the plane, what different sounds mean, why pilots reduce thrust shortly after takeoff, and why hard landings can sometimes be better than soft ones will help give passengers peace of mind before their next flight.

First off: Not all fear of flying is the same. If it's a phobia, similar to how some people feel about spiders, information won't help. But in most cases, fear of flying arises as a rational fear. Things like turbulence, unfamiliar noises, or feeling at the mercy of the pilot can cause anxiety. Information can help with this.

It starts with understanding why a plane flies. It's not magic or reliant on the whims of nature; it's based on the reliable power of the laws of physics. The shape of the wings is designed to allow flight. They aren't flat like a board but are curved more upwards than downwards.

Because of this shape, air moves faster over the top of the wing than beneath it as the plane moves. Faster flowing air means lower pressure, creating lift. This lift is what first raises the plane off the ground, then keeps it in the air.

The plane's forward movement is powered by its engines. Most commercial planes have two engines, some even four. But what if they fail? The plane doesn't just drop out of the sky; it glides calmly like a glider. This has happened before.

The most famous case was in 1982 when a British Airways jumbo flew into a volcanic ash cloud over the Pacific. All four engines failed. It took the pilots twelve minutes to restart them, during which the more than 300-ton aircraft glided smoothly. Even after gliding, when the engines were restarted, the plane was still almost 4,000 meters high. A distance of 150 kilometers or more is no problem for a gliding commercial airplane.

Takeoff is followed by a slight delay felt in the cabin and a change in engine noise. This doesn't indicate a problem. Takeoff uses high power, but since this isn't needed for the rest of the flight, the crew reduces throttle shortly after.

Other noises: The rumbling underfoot is from the landing gear retracting, and the whirring from the wings is from the retraction of the flaps, which are partially extended during takeoff to increase lift. Following this, the flight is usually uneventful.

At this or shortly after, a long-lasting or repeated buzzing sound might be heard from below. This is normal. Airplanes have hydraulic systems that are redundant. There are often three systems on board.

Each system has a pump to build necessary pressure. Only one pump operates initially, so pressure is limited to one system. The other systems must build pressure, done through something called a Power Transfer Unit (PTU), which makes the buzzing noise.

Passengers on board planes might see wings bending or hear sounds that can unsettle them. This starts on the ground. The air conditioning stops briefly during engine start as it uses air pressure from a small turbine. During the engine start, this air pressure is needed for the engines, affecting the air conditioning temporarily.

Once the engines run, the lights might flicker or go out briefly. The small turbine provides power when on the ground, but the engines supply power when running. Switching the power source causes the flickering.

Landings are punctuated by more rumbling and whirring as wheels and flaps are extended. While passengers might associate soft landings with skill, this isn't always true in poor weather with strong winds.

Airlines often fly faster during approaches in such conditions. A faster approach makes the plane less sensitive to gusts. But it also results in a harder landing, which can actually demonstrate the crew's skill.

What's still needed about flying safety are straightforward numbers. In 2023, 72 people worldwide died in air travel accidents. In car accidents-just in Germany-2,817 people died.

Such numbers are generally used to comfort nervous flyers but are too abstract to be truly convincing. And those who understand why planes fly and the causes of onboard sounds and observations won't rely on these statistics anyway.

What do travelers need to know right now? Find all the essential vacation news at the travel reporter.

Of course, this doesn't ease passenger fear of turbulence, which can cause injury if not buckled.

For the plane, though, turbulence is harmless. Turbulence is measured in g-forces. In a strong autumn storm, a plane might experience 1.8 g. A plane like the Airbus A340 is built to handle up to 4.5 g without damage.

Passengers can observe wings moving upward during turbulence. Wings naturally bend upward due to lift-by about a meter. In turbulence, it's about 2.7 meters. An Airbus A340 can handle up to 4.9 meters easily.