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I am someone who last flew in 1978 (remember Spantax Airlines?!!!) and started flying again in 2008 and 2009 and I will be flying again next month. As all the terrible airline stuff we've been through since 78 ( American 191, Pan Am 103, TWA 800, 9/11, American 587 etc etc) you could only imagine what it was like to board a plane again after 3 decades. But i made it. And i didn't even need Xanax either
After my 2008 flight my sister in law told me that Airtran (the airline I fly) was a merge from Valujet. What she didn't tell me was that there was a Valujet crash in the Fla everglades in May 1996 and i found out that Valujet became Airtran about a year or two after the crash
My question is is the current Airtran fleet (I think i fly on their 717's) simply former Valujet planes with Airtran logo painted over? I get a little creeped out thinking I am on a plane like the plane that crashed in 96.
The value jet crash had nothing to do with the type of aircraft. It was an accident caused by improper cargo on the flight. It could have been a cessna 150 or a Boeing 747, it could have been Quantas or Bubba's Puddle Jumper. If your concerned about those crashes, remember more pople are killed as passengers on buses than on aircraft. Aircraft just carry more people so it looks worst. Aircraft accidents are a media sensation. Aircarft accidents have more attorneys specializing in sueing. How many people have been killed in bus crashes in 2010 so far? Hiow many in aircraft accidents? You may know the number in aircarft because it's always news, but they don't even report bus fatalities anymore because it would take up too much time.
like yours that will keep me relatively sane about flying
but unfortunately i have the morbid preoccupation of watching youtube videos of American 191, i don't know why i do it... I guess i believe i'll be all the more braver for seeing it
I''ve flown AirTran many times, Its a safe airline, with good service. Stoppwatching Youtube .... Watch the 6pm news and see all the car crash'es and think of how you are going to get to the airport and survive the trip in the car.
I am someone who last flew in 1978 (remember Spantax Airlines?!!!) and started flying again in 2008 and 2009 and I will be flying again next month. As all the terrible airline stuff we've been through since 78 ( American 191, Pan Am 103, TWA 800, 9/11, American 587 etc etc) you could only imagine what it was like to board a plane again after 3 decades. But i made it. And i didn't even need Xanax either
After my 2008 flight my sister in law told me that Airtran (the airline I fly) was a merge from Valujet. What she didn't tell me was that there was a Valujet crash in the Fla everglades in May 1996 and i found out that Valujet became Airtran about a year or two after the crash
My question is is the current Airtran fleet (I think i fly on their 717's) simply former Valujet planes with Airtran logo painted over? I get a little creeped out thinking I am on a plane like the plane that crashed in 96.
I'll just tell you what a fellow passenger told me when I first used AirTran.
"After that crash in Florida, you can bet your azz they're the most watched airline in the sky."
I think he's right. So...I fly AirTran every chance I get and they haven't killed me yet!
Valu Jet had an all DC-9 fleet. Air Tran has only 717s and 737-700s. So no you wont be flying on a old Valu Jet Plane. However the crash was not even Valu Jets fault. Just wikipedia or You Tube Valu Jet 592 and you will see. The FAA and the company who packed some boxes wrong were the ones to blame.
Also as a side note the vast majority of air crashes about 80% of crashes are caused by pilot error not the plane having problems. Pilots have been getting better and better training the past 20 years and technology is only better hence the dramatic drop in Air Crashes in the United States.
what bothers me is that past passengers of those tragedies involving pilot error(American 587) and mechanical failure(American 191, TWA 800) are cast into the role of guinea pigs, and the tragedies serve as "learning experiences" for pilots in training and i guess the entire airline industry
are modern day pilots trained to know of all the tragedies and what happened in each case and what they could do say an engine falls off during take off roll (as in American 191)? last year during take off from Atlanta a storm had just cleared out and we took off and about 8-9 minutes later we had 2 terrifying turbulence jolts during which the second one about 90% of the plane screamed. the pilot apologized to us saying there was no way to avoid that route if we wanted to get moving. probably nothing to them i was told the plane may have dropped maybe 20-30 feet but at that time i was thinking about American 587
how many minutes does it take to reach 38,000 feet? this is something that may make it a little easier next time. if i could look at my watch and know when the cruise part starts it might make things a little easier.
also, why is it that i absolutely will not look out the window during take off and keep my eyes glued to the paper or book, and if my eyes just even graze the window area i will feel vertigo, but 20 minutes prior to landing i have no problem looking out and down. in fact, it's fun. even if the plane is rolling a bit i will look down as far as i can as it's pitching with no problem
oh yes, have they learned from the 1978 PSA midair collision over San Diego...??? that was a bad one too...
It is still safer to take an airplane than it is to take a bus, do you worry everytime you get on a bus?
It is still safer to take an airplane than it is to drive your car, do you worry everytime you get in your car?
It is still safer to take an airplane than it is to take a train, do you worry everytime you get on a train?
If your concern is your safety, stay home.
If you have a fear of flying, come out and say that.
All the nonsense over past accidents and this and that could drive you crazy especially when your reaching for some reason to make your fears seem real.
Are you afraid of flying? Nothing wrong with having a legitimate fear of flying based on nothing but that fear, but you have to be honest with yourself.
I fly hundred of thousands of miles each year on our aircarft, other company aircraft and commerical scheduled aircraft. Yet the only times my life has been in harms way is when I'm traveling to the airfield. My 3 major injuries since I started this job have been in car crashes.
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it's reminders
