I'm trying to write in my journal. But right now the plane I'm on is going through violent bumps and an unexpected descent. It's scary. And gets me thinking.
Surviving modern life is very much a game of chance. How do I know this plane isn't going down?
Of course the reassuring voice in my head pats me on the back and let's me know it's just turbulence. Bit there's another part of me that says "You know...planes DO crash."
No it doesn't happen very often. In the grand scheme of things it's almost nonexistent. I've been flying all my life and have know thousands of people who fly, and have flown all there lives. It hasn't happened to anyone I know.
But it CAN happen. We've all seen it on the news:
A plane crash is like a tiny straw that gets drawn from a sea of straws. Or a gunshot in a Russian Roulette game where the weapon has a million empty chambers and one live bullet.
How does one know that the flight he or she is on is not that one in a million short straw or Russian roulette bullet?
You don't. Another reason to make the most of every day.
The plane settles down and the flight feels relaxed again. Seat-belt sign goes off. A flight attendant wheeling a cart say "Can I offer you something to drink?" I order sparkling water and lime. Let's see, what was I writing about earlier...
15 comments:
Hello Alex,
I don't have much to say about airplanes, except that they are the safest way of transportation!
I'm certain that Claudia J, my twin sister, is going to give a fully updated, realistic, accurate and probably very lonnnnnnng LECTURE on "All things Aviation". She is probably writting it at this very moment.
As for me - I like flying, but don't like heavy turbulence.
Kind regards
An phrase that always help in this situation: " once again, I pay my impost and until here they dont fix the holes on highways!"
Hi Alex,
Finally a subject I feel very comfortable at. I'm an Aircraft Engineer and I totally disagree with you. Flying is not a Russian Roulette unless you fly with low cost airlines. Everything in the airline business is very expensive and there's only one way to make airline tickets cheap, that is, "cost cutting". And where do low cost airlines save their money? On passenger services and privileges and on aircraft maintenance. And that's where the problem lies. Furthermore, the low cost crews (cabin and flight crew) and not selected using the same standards as in "Normal Airlines" and their training is not as stringent.
Poor maintenance with badly trained crew working extra hours is a dangerous combination.
An aircraft accident is ALWAYS a combination of multiple failures (mechanical, decision making, fatigue etc..). Ad to that bad weather and poor Air Traffic Control and you can run into very big problems.
Aircraft are amazing machines which have tons of redundancies. If your regular car has one braking system (2 if you consider foot and hand brakes), commercial aircraft have 3-4. The same goes for any other aircraft system: Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Pressurisation, Auto-Pilot etc....
Every commercial aircraft is built under approved regulations and is able to withstand loads 1.5x the maximum load expected in normal service. That includes severe turbulence. As you can see the Aircraft is very tough indeed.
You can argue that an aircraft can go into a storm, but that is almost impossible unless the pilot is crazy. Radars detect the storm activity ahead and the pilot should deviate the route.
Concerning your experienced turbulence, I simply love it. I love flying but it gets quite boring after a couple of hours and turbulence is the funny part. As for the aircraft themselves, I love them. As I said they are amazing machines with heart and soul as you can read on my blog @ http://claudiawritings.blogspot.com/
If you're interested in learning a bit more about aircraft, I can recommend a few books.
I just hope you enjoy your upcoming flights and please relax. Listen to the engines running and watch the wing tips balancing up and down. You'll see the beauty of aircraft.
Rest assured it is the safest way of travelling.
Regards,
Claudia
I love to fly, turbulence and all, 12 years in the Air Force as an in-flight avionics technician will do that. But I can see how that would make you think about making the most of every day and that brings to mind a card a friend sent when my Grandmum passed away, it's a verse by Mary Anne Radmacher......
remembering... she lived measuring herself by her own criteria rather than the judgments of others. she laughed deeply, cried readily and folded herself passionately into chosen arms. she lived vitally and acted on impulse. she managed her days as if she were at game: coach and player both and hard at it. she knelt to be like children and stood tall to aspire to certain greatness. no one liked well her fury but rather loved to be lavished by her generosities. she learned as well as she taught but never learned the grace of ease with error - she peferred to be perfect. we did not often tell her she wasn't. and while she was not perfect - she longed to love perfectly, protect and inspire those she cherished and these whom she named "friend." our days shine less brightly with her absent to them.
Many thought of her this way, she most definitely made the most of each and every day.....I aspire to be more like her.
Safe travels, Alex.
Turbulence is uncomfortable no matter the setting. Especially, in a pressurized tube thousands of miles in the air. I've had my share of it and for me, these are God moments meant to contemplate.I choose mortality usually, which is in order and I'm at peace ready to crash if it goes that way. At this time, I stay quiet, pray, others too quiet down, laugh, talk, feel annoyed, drink. Good to notice our gut reaction though (which you've so eloquently done) and follow up, hopefully land ? and make the most of it...... "Can I get you something to drink and think about"
Claudia: Awesome!! A guy I dated for a while was an aviation student and he told me a lot of the same things. He even let me ride with him in one one his runs and explained a lot of things.. and was explaining the control tower etc etc. It was a lot of fun. I'd much rather fly than drive whenever possible now, honestly. (Except for the airport bs. but that's a different story)
Alex: Turbulence always reminded me of expressway driving sort of... it's bumpy, but after a while it's not that big of a deal and you don't really notice it. Plus, personally.. I'd rather take one of my life chances, on a plane, than in a car.
Alex,
I wanted to add onto to something you said in your blog about making the most of every day. My father was killed in a plane accident many years ago when I was a teenager. In addition to making the most of every day, I learned at an early age what I think is an even a more valuable lesson: To value and appreciate my family and friends, and to be a bit more tolerant and forgiving. You never know when those you care about may not be with you any longer.
(And yes, I still fly. And no, I don’t like turbulence either.)
Oh boy, where do I begin.....First off, Alex, I'm very humbled and greatful that you have written a blog about my profession. I remember you writing about a visit to see the Thunderbirds once and I thought that maybe you might of had an interest in aviation. If you have any questions about what it's like on the other side of the door, I'll be more than happy to answer. Now about Claudia's comment about Low cost carriers or LCCs. Maybe there is some confusion between a LCC and a Regional airline. A LCC, i.e. Southwest, Airtran, Jetblue generally cost less because of its business model,not because of low wages. Southwest pilots are some of the highest paid in the industry. As far as regional airlines, like Colgan, ASA, Pinnacle, yes they tend to hire pilots with less experience, Or hire from pilot puppy mills (flight schools that take people with zero experience and get them into an airline cockpit in less than a year)Now, many of these Regional airlines make their money by contracting out for the Legacy(or I guess what was referred to as normal)airlines. i.e. Delta, American, United. So... if you buy a ticket on one of these Legacy carriers, you have about a 50% chance you will wind up on one of these regionals. Just some food for thought.
Mike\m/
Alex,d ont worry mate, you´re Immortal...
...And if your airplane do crash,i will try to do my best running there to cach your hands and a piece of your brain,with some lucky, i can make a transplant so....dont worrie.
I´ll carry on your journy!!
P.S - In the downfall ,Dont forget to put your hands in your pockets
; )
To Metalmike,
I guess you got it all wrong. I never mentioned wages. It has nothing to do with wages.
It all comes down to the criteria used during recruitment and the training carried out in-house. And it certainly has nothing to do with Ab-Initio pilots (pilots puppy mills). Actually Ab-Initio pilots are among the best trained, at least here in Europe.
Regards,
Claudia
The words in this post came to mind during this one small but bad bout of turbulence. It's not saying we should be scared of crashing, only that, in the course of history, it HAS happened. I'm sure we can agree on that.
This is from someone who spends a lot of time flying and enjoys most of the flights. It was followed by the phrase, 'one in a million.' Did everyone catch that? That's an acknowledgment that air travel is very safe.
The odds, according to internet sites, are actually higher, as much as 10 million depending on the airline. For the Russian Roulette analogy, I was imagining a giant gun barrel too big for the eye to see, with millions of hallow chambers.
I have no doubts that planes are the safest mode of travel. But they are not infallible. Nothing is.
So as Lindy said (also the nickname of Charles Lindbergh, the aviation pioneer), it's a reason to cherish every moment, value those you care about. be more tolerant, patient and forgiving and don't let anyone or anything stop you from doing what you love most.
Alex,
I had no intention of turning your comments page into a forum. After reading Claudia's comments, I just felt like I had to clear a few things up about the airline industry. Claudia, now that I see you are from Europe, I think some of your comments may have been lost in translation. I'm not sure what you meant by the term "low cost crews" so that is why I responded. There was an interesting show that aired on PBS just a few weeks ago about the Colgan Airlines crash. Some of the things that I stated in my earlier post were discussed. The name of the show is Frontline and the episode is called "Flying Cheap". I'm pretty sure it can be viewed on the PBS website. Peace out.
Mike \m/
Mike- no problem about starting a forum. You and Claudia are definitely the experts here, the rest of us are 'laypersons.' It's interesting to read about the subject from your insiders' perspectives.
Claudia- while your contributions are greatly appreciated, some of your posts come across as confrontational. I respect anyone with strong opinions and it might just be a language thing, as Mike implied. But if you could please be more conscious and aware of that, that would be helpful. Just a friendly hint, phrases like "I totally disagree with you" and "I'm shocked" are very provocative and unnecessary. In English, they cause a reaction in people and aren't necessary to make your point.
Thank you both
Alex
Hi Alex,
Sorry if I ever hurt you in any way. It was never my intention.
I am indeed a very strong opinionated person but by no means confrontational. I would run into serious trouble in my profession if I was to confront anyone.
I always try to convey my point of view in the most direct and honest way and I certainly don't lie just to make other people happy. My apologies if I'm too honest.
It's a pleasure to be able to share my opinions with you and thanks for the advice.
Regards,
Claudia
You have voices patting on your back? ;-)
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