Terrified of flying, reading news, have to book summer tickets

[Anonymous]

I'm a little worried with the ATC stuff, but if I change my trips to places I can drive to, that makes no sense. Statistically I'm much more likely to get into a car accident than a plane crash, even with Trump and his morons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider your options:
1) Different transportation (car, etc).
2) Can your spouse take the kids to Grandma’s?
3) Stay home.

I mean, Trump just fired 400 FAA workers when the last crash was caused at least partially because an air traffic controller was doing two jobs rather than one due to understaffing. If you want us to tell you comforting things, it's not going to happen from me.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/17/faa-workers-fired-trump-plane-helicopter-collision/78956241007/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, when it’s your time, it’s your time. No point in being fearful.

What if it's not my time, but it's the guy flying the airplanes's time?

Well then it’s your time to go as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your options? Road trip? Train? It's worth considering if you have the time to spare.

Cars and trains are more dangerous in terms of death per passenger mile than commercial flights, even with the recent crash. There has been one fatal crash in decades. Even the plane today that flipped on landing, skidded on its top, and caught on fire had enough safety features that everyone survived (albeit with injuries, but not worse than a car rollover). I don't like flying either. But it's not logical to pick other modes of travel for safety reasons.

When the data was taken is not now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP it’s definitely your irrational fear. I’m not downplaying that, and I think it’s great that you get treatment for it. And I absolutely get why news about a plane crash would be a very real and important factor for how much fear you have to deal with.

But no, your actual risk from flying commercially has not changed in any meaningful way.

So you have a real anxiety problem to really address in whatever way you and your doctors think is best, but not a real planes problem.

I don’t have a fear of flying, but DOGE “improving” FAA software is effing nuts, and downright scary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider your options:
1) Different transportation (car, etc).
2) Can your spouse take the kids to Grandma’s?
3) Stay home.

I mean, Trump just fired 400 FAA workers when the last crash was caused at least partially because an air traffic controller was doing two jobs rather than one due to understaffing. If you want us to tell you comforting things, it's not going to happen from me.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/17/faa-workers-fired-trump-plane-helicopter-collision/78956241007/

Bolded has not been proven at all- of course it might be found out to have been a contributing factor, but the publicly available information so far doesn't necessarily support that yet.

This though is terrifying, and of course shows how much they lie and BS.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-musk-faa-firings-purge-air-safety-1235271233/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider your options:
1) Different transportation (car, etc).
2) Can your spouse take the kids to Grandma’s?
3) Stay home.

I mean, Trump just fired 400 FAA workers when the last crash was caused at least partially because an air traffic controller was doing two jobs rather than one due to understaffing. If you want us to tell you comforting things, it's not going to happen from me.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/17/faa-workers-fired-trump-plane-helicopter-collision/78956241007/

If you can drive, I would.
Or see if the grandparents would be able or willing to fly here and not put your kids in danger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider your options:
1) Different transportation (car, etc).
2) Can your spouse take the kids to Grandma’s?
3) Stay home.

I mean, Trump just fired 400 FAA workers when the last crash was caused at least partially because an air traffic controller was doing two jobs rather than one due to understaffing. If you want us to tell you comforting things, it's not going to happen from me.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/17/faa-workers-fired-trump-plane-helicopter-collision/78956241007/

If you can drive, I would.
Or see if the grandparents would be able or willing to fly here and not put your kids in danger.

I don't get this. You are still more likely to get into a serious car accident driving to Grandma's than you are to get into a plane crash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re right to be scared. You should be. I’m not flying anymore until well after trump is gone and we get a Democrat back in control.

We’re about to witness an unprecedented number of plane crashes due to DOGE job cuts. Thousands of people are going to die in plane crashes in the next few years.

This is completely irrational. DCA crash had nothing to do with controllers - it was the helicopter pilot who failed to see the jet. Toronto crash has nothing to do with controllers, and isn’t even in the USA. We’ve had one fatal airliner crash in 16 years and suddenly you’re panicked that “1000s” are going to die?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re right to be scared. You should be. I’m not flying anymore until well after trump is gone and we get a Democrat back in control.

We’re about to witness an unprecedented number of plane crashes due to DOGE job cuts. Thousands of people are going to die in plane crashes in the next few years.

This is completely irrational. DCA crash had nothing to do with controllers - it was the helicopter pilot who failed to see the jet. Toronto crash has nothing to do with controllers, and isn’t even in the USA. We’ve had one fatal airliner crash in 16 years and suddenly you’re panicked that “1000s” are going to die?

Yep. And sadly all these morons’ votes count as much as yours and mine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your options? Road trip? Train? It's worth considering if you have the time to spare.

Cars and trains are more dangerous in terms of death per passenger mile than commercial flights, even with the recent crash. There has been one fatal crash in decades. Even the plane today that flipped on landing, skidded on its top, and caught on fire had enough safety features that everyone survived (albeit with injuries, but not worse than a car rollover). I don't like flying either. But it's not logical to pick other modes of travel for safety reasons.

When the data was taken is not now.

Even accounting for the terrible tragedy at DCA, flying is far safer than driving. About 40,000 people die in traffic accidents every year in the U.S. — that's about 109 people every day, more than died in that crash.

[Anonymous]

Maybe ask kids’ grandparents to visit you instead, and you pay for their flight tickets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re right to be scared. You should be. I’m not flying anymore until well after trump is gone and we get a Democrat back in control.

We’re about to witness an unprecedented number of plane crashes due to DOGE job cuts. Thousands of people are going to die in plane crashes in the next few years.

This is completely irrational. DCA crash had nothing to do with controllers - it was the helicopter pilot who failed to see the jet. Toronto crash has nothing to do with controllers, and isn’t even in the USA. We’ve had one fatal airliner crash in 16 years and suddenly you’re panicked that “1000s” are going to die?

Well, some people feel he could have made his instructions to the pilot more clear.

Also, they may but have asked the plane to switch runways if the airport was not so congested.

Most accidents have multiple contributing causes. This one will be the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re right to be scared. You should be. I’m not flying anymore until well after trump is gone and we get a Democrat back in control.

We’re about to witness an unprecedented number of plane crashes due to DOGE job cuts. Thousands of people are going to die in plane crashes in the next few years.

This is completely irrational. DCA crash had nothing to do with controllers - it was the helicopter pilot who failed to see the jet. Toronto crash has nothing to do with controllers, and isn’t even in the USA. We’ve had one fatal airliner crash in 16 years and suddenly you’re panicked that “1000s” are going to die?

Well, some people feel he could have made his instructions to the pilot more clear.

Also, they may but have asked the plane to switch runways if the airport was not so congested.

Most accidents have multiple contributing causes. This one will be the same.

Who, specifically, has said that? Are they people with substantive training and experience in air traffic control?

[Anonymous]

Past statistics aren’t going to be of much comfort here, so I won’t even offer them. Flying was less dangerous than driving. Who knows now. Musk and his rats are moving fast and breaking things. One of them may be your skull.