You can chalk it up to a traumatic or vicarious experience, a spontaneous panic attack, claustrophobia or any one of a variety of fears, but the fear of flying grips about one of every six adults.
The next time you`re on a flight and you feel mighty uncomfortable, look around and know with certainty you are not alone. There are others with sweaty palms and white knuckles, others may be half-potted.
For many, the words ”have a nice flight” is a mental or physical impossibility. Glenda Jackson, Ronald Reagan, Chuck Yeager, actor Sam Shepard, Bob Newhart, Gene Shallit, Maureen Stapleton, Aretha Franklin and John Madden are among the personalities who either fret about flying or simply don`t fly.
Tribune columnist Mike Royko summed up the fear of flying this way:
”I have a phobia about being inside a large metal tube that is plowing through the atmosphere at the speed of a bullet, about 4 miles above the nearest sidewalk, with a total stranger at the steering wheel.”
After the Sioux City, Iowa crash, television news footage of the cartwheeling United Airlines jetliner was aired time after time, and after repeated showings of last month`s crash of a USAir jet at New York`s LaGuardia Airport, even veteran fliers winced. For fearful fliers, the news clips were a vicarious nightmare.
Statistics, while not necessarily allaying fears, do bear out how safe flying is. A study by Arnold Barnett of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has done extensive research on commercial flight safety, said that between 1976 and 1991, the death risk per flight was one in 10 million. Other Barnett statistics: Air travel is 10 times safer than train travel and 19 times safer than auto travel.
What prompted this look at fear of flying was not a crash, but a book-size plastic box with ”Achieving Comfortable Flight” in small type overprinting an arty photo of a jet engine and tail section of a plane. It arrived a few days before a recent USAir crash at LaGuardia.
Inside the box were two booklets, four audio cassettes and 14 quick reference cards-a do-it-yourself kit to overcome the fear of flying, items that you can carry with you on a flight.
The kit, produced by Pathway Systems of Chapel Hill, N.C., is the work of Reid Wilson, a clinical psychologist, and T. W. Cummings, a World War II bomber pilot and for 31 years a captain with Pan American World Airways. Wilson, author of ”Don`t Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety” and co-author of ”Stop Obsessing! How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions,” is on the board of directors of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. Cummings established the ”Freedom from Fear of Flying” program in 1975, and Wilson has worked in the field of anxiety disorders since 1980.
One booklet, by Wilson, is subtitled ”Taking the anxiety out of airline travel: Personal strategies.” The other, by Cummings and Wilson, is subtitled ”The Flight Experience.”
It was Wilson who mentioned the celebrities and cited the safety studies by Barnett in his booklet. Referring to the one in 10 million figure, Wilson wrote: ”That means that any time you board a flight on a major carrier this country, your chance of being in a fatal accident is one in 10 million.”
Granted, there`s little solace in statistics if you lost someone in a crash. The impact of one air crash for some reason, however, is more sobering to the public than the fact that about 130 people die every day in automobile accidents.
But the program offered by Wilson and Cummings is much more than statistics. It`s one of several fearful flying programs, but the first I`ve seen that individuals can buy and work on at home.
Two fearful-flier programs are offered by airlines-American Airlines`
AAir Born which schedules special classes around the U.S., and USAir`s Fearful Flyer Program which does the same. Both charge about $300. The ”Achieving Comfortable Flight” kit costs $59.95; call 800-394-2299, or write to Pathway Systems, P.O. Box 269, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514.
Among the personal strategies detailed in the booklet and on tape:
– handle your worries before and during flights by noting them, choosing to stop them and taking action such as three calming deep breaths.
– use muscle-tensing and relaxing exercises that reduce tensions.
– stop irrational thoughts as they arise.
– deal with concerns during takeoff, turbulence and other weather conditions.
Especially fascinating for fliers and non-fliers alike is the booklet by both Cummings and Wilson plus the tape dealing with the flight experience. The contents include:
– a step-by-step guide through the flight, describing more than 75 sights, sounds and sensations you can expect on a routine flight.
– the truth about weather.
– turbulence and what causes it, how it affects the plane and passengers. – facts about the air traffic control system and flight safety.
– the aircraft: maintenance and how the plane actually flies.
– flight crew selection, health requirements and ongoing training.
If you go through anxiety attacks at any phase of a flight, this kit will probably be better for your mental state than several alcoholic beverages because it combines principles of psychology along with a behind-the-scenes look at the airline industry.
