Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee, We'll be traveling to England next summer, and am worried about flying. I don't always dwell on the plane possibly crashing, but it does cross my mind. Do you know of any way to ease my concerns? Signed, Anxious Dear Anxious, According the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), airline accidents are rare, with the odds of death about 1 in 7 million, as calculated by Professor Arnold Barnett of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These odds can be looked at like this: if you were to fly once a day on a randomly chosen flight, you would fly 19,000 years without a fatal crash. Some tips to be safer when flying: 1) Choose NONSTOP flights. Most airline accidents occur during takeoff or landing, so take nonstop flights to avoid as much takeoff and landing as possible. Direct flights are not necessarily nonstop, be sure and check with the reservation agent. 2) Always keep your seatbelt fastened even after the captain turns off the fasten seatbelt sign. Air turbulence can happen quite suddenly and without warning. 3) Listen to the flight attendant during the preflight safety instructions. 4) Note where the nearest exits are and count the number of rows you are from them. In a survivable crash, smoke can make it difficult, if not impossible, to visually see the exits. 5) Wear sensible clothes. Do not wear high heels as they will have to be taken off during evacuation with the airplane slide causing delays if time is precious. See letter about more information about plane clothes. You can find safety information about airlines and airport status at the Federal Aviation Administration website at www.faa.gov More information about Arnold Barnett can be found at http://sloancf.mit.edu/vpf/popup-if.cfm?in_spseqno=5&co_list=F |
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