Anonymous wrote:Anyone with flight anxiety - highly recommend getting an rx for Xanax or Ativan. Helps tremendously.

I just got an Ativan prescription for an upcoming flight to Europe. Dr recommended taking 1/2 pill at boarding and another if I get anxious in the air. The low dose is because my body is naive to benzos. Does that sound reasonable to all of you who regularly take something for flight anxiety?

I've been through quite a few rough trips on large commercial aircraft, but none that were specifically memorable.

The two most memorable trips were on a small private jet over the Nevada desert in the summertime (the heat off the desert produces some serious turbulence) and a small prop plane flying into a small airport in Hana, Hawaii. In Hana, the runway is right beside a cliff and the pilot took the plane in basically sideways. He obviously knew what he was doing, but it was still quite exciting.

My mother's law firm represented a major airline, and she said you wouldn't believe the number of claims they get for injuries for "clear air turbulence." She told me to keep my seat belt on at ALL times.

Jamaica and there was a hurricane in the far distance. Apparently we ran into a stray band of turbulent wind and we took a nose dive/all air bags deployed/people screaming. Thankfully the pilot recovered the plane and the rest of the flight was a little bumpy but nothing like that. It scared me so much that I now have major turbulence anxiety -- just don't want to ever experience that again! Helps hearing these stories.

Thanks pp. The weather was so bad that we skidded off of the tiny runway once and another time we hit terrible turbulence. I flew this route between Cleveland and Columbus about 6 times and then decided it was just easier to drive (about 3 hours or so)

Anonymous wrote:I used to fly 12 seat planes from Cleveland to Columbus, OH in the winter. We almost died once. Lucky to be alive!

please elaborate! sorry for your bad experience.

I used to fly 12 seat planes from Cleveland to Columbus, OH in the winter. We almost died once. Lucky to be alive!

Flying is extremely safe, including in turblence--but not for unrestrained passengers. It's why I would never fly with a "lap baby". I understand the financial concerns, and some people find it easier to comfort a baby--but safety first.

From the article in the link below:

The center received 114,222 medical event calls during the study period of which 12,226 involved children; 400 of the pediatric medical events were injuries.

The most common injuries were burns (39%), contusions (30%), lacerations (21%) and closed head injuries (8%). The most frequent causes of injury were hot soup or beverages that were spilled on a child (36%), particularly those sitting in an aisle seat, and falls from the seat by unrestrained or lap children (25%).

The authors noted that while children younger than 2 made up only 1% of passengers, they sustained 35% of pediatric injuries.

The Academy has called for a federal requirement for restraint use for children on aircraft, including those younger than 2. The authors agreed that restraints may have prevented injuries from falls detailed in the study.

“By law, in the United States, an infant must be secured to a properly positioned safety seat with a 5-point restraint to ride in an automobile at 50 mph but is free to ride unrestrained on the lap of an adult inside an aircraft moving at speeds greater than 500 mph on a tridimensional trajectory and subjected to unexpected turbulence,” they wrote.

http://www.aappublications.org/news/2017/02/24/Airplane022417

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was on a plane where the landing gear malfunctioned. It turns out you can land an airplane right on its belly, but it's not fun.

I'm a terrified flyer and this is one of my fears.

Not fun because you were frightened or do you mean it was physically painful for you? Did the plane spark at all?

It wasn't painful, but is was scary as f**k. There were definitely sparks and a lot of noise.

Anyone with flight anxiety - highly recommend getting an rx for Xanax or Ativan. Helps tremendously.

DH and I were coming back from our honeymoon and flying from Tokyo to NYC. It was right after the dinner service and the flight attendants were cleaning up and they had just dimmed the lights. I'm assuming we hit an air pocket because the suddenly the plane dropped and started rocking all over the place while banking side to side. The flight attendants stopped cold in their tracks and made a beeline for the jump seats. And then we kept dropping and banking side to side for several more minutes. I had severe flight anxiety at the time and I just knew that was the end. I was crying and shaking. Worst thing is DH and I for some reason weren't able to get seats together so I couldn't hold on to him. He was in the seat directly behind me so he could only hold my hand.

Before I had my benzos I used to take benadryl for the anxiety. I think I grabbed a handful of them and downed them. But then the turbulence stopped a few minutes later and I was like a zombie for the rest of flight LOL.

Anonymous wrote:I was on a plane where the landing gear malfunctioned. It turns out you can land an airplane right on its belly, but it's not fun.

I'm a terrified flyer and this is one of my fears.

Not fun because you were frightened or do you mean it was physically painful for you? Did the plane spark at all?

I was on a plane where the landing gear malfunctioned. It turns out you can land an airplane right on its belly, but it's not fun.

Anonymous wrote:There is a route flying from Dubai that takes you over the mountains on the Iran/Iraq border. It is always turbulent.

One time a guy didn’t stay seated and belted and he hit the ceiling.

We ended up in Isfahan.

So I’ve been to Iran!

And I’ve been to Ghana! (Yours is cooler though). We were attempting to land in Lagos and it was storming so bad we had to divert three countries over (OK, the two countries in between are really skinny). There was lots of praying. We were stuck on the plane in Accra for several hours before flying back to Nigeria, so I therefore feel qualified to lecture on “the people and culture of Ghana”.

I've flown a lot so I've had several bad flights:

Flight from Auckland to LA hit a huge air pocket and dropped. Everything flew everywhere, I was doused with my neighbors drink that was on the tray table. Thankfully it was an overnight flight and most people were sleeping so no injuries.

Flight from Dulles to Newark on a very small Continental Airlines plane- horrible turbulence the entire trip. The place shook the whole time. My son and now ex-husband both vowed to never take a puddle jumper again, and haven't.

Landing at Dulles hit an air pocket almost at landing and I thought the plane was going to flip or at least a wing was going to hit the ground. It was very, very scary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flight into Denver many years ago. On descent we'd hit air pockets and drop 30'. Scary! We survived...

I have heard other horror stories about Denver turbulence. We’re flying ther for vacation this summer. I hate turbulence and am already concerned!

The worst turbulence I ever experienced was also on a flight into Denver. Several big drops in air pockets--it felt like being in free fall. I rarely get queasy on flights, and I nearly vomited it was so bad. The captain came on several times to reassure everyone that we weren't all going to die.

I'm the second Denver poster and first Xanax poster. I guess I'll try to get a prescription before our vacation and take one before the flight and maybe a half a pill an hour before landing. My DD is now older, but I hadn't taken anything in the past because I needed to be fully alert to take care of her.