14 Heart-Stopping Pilot Confessions Moments Before Disaster Strikes in the Sky
The plane suddenly descended to a dangerously low altitude, veering far off the safe landing trajectory. “Pull up, pull up, re-ascend for the second Circle! F**k!” The plane clipped trees, flipped midair, and plummeted to the ground. The impact caused the fuselage to shatter, and it exploded. All 96 people on board lost their lives. Investigations concluded that the crew should never have attempted to land in such critical weather conditions.
Some of the main triggers of aerophobia include:
- News stories about crashes or violence on airplanes
- Turbulence
- Takeoff and landing
- Thinking about either fire or illness spreading through the plane
The fear of flying can be even worse when combined with other phobias. For instance, with acrophobia (the fear of heights), agoraphobia (the fear of leaving the house or not being able to escape from a place), anthropophobia (the fear of people), claustrophobia (the fear of crowded and confined spaces), and mysophobia (aka germaphobia, the fear of germs).
September 25th, 1978, a Pacific Southwest Boeing 727-214 was making a routine commercial flight from Sacramento to San Diego with a stopover in Los Angeles. On board were 126 passengers and 7 crew members. The plane was captained by James E. McFaron, an experienced pilot with 17 years of service. As the Boeing headed to San Diego, something unexpected happened.
At the same time, a Cessna 172, a single-engine plane with 2 people on board, was conducting a training flight. Air Traffic Control warned the Boeing crew that the Cessna was approaching from the East, “Yeah, but I don’t see him now.” “Okay, we had it there a minute ago.” Despite this, uncertainty filled the cockpit as Captain McFaron repeatedly asked, “Are we clear of that Cessna?” “Supposed to be, I guess, I hope.”
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