A Short Flight North

I am writing this about six hours before my flight to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore. It's just a short flight north but nevertheless a significant one becuase that would be my first since I started this blog as part of my effort to deal with Aviophobia or the fear of flying.

Previously I've refrained myself from thinking about what could go wrong in a flight so as not to aggravate the fear -- what I don't know can't hurt me -- but still I find it rather difficult to remain calm in a flight.

By blogging about the issue, I am unrestraining myself from thinking just about anything that could happen to a flight.

I said, okay, let's face it...read anything you can about flight accidents, air crashes, about flight security, aircraft maintenance, how a feather-less giant iron and fibre can fly, and whatnots. You can't run away from a flight so why don't you just turn back and face your demon!

So, I am flying today for about 50 minutes, that is -- long enough to scare me, hell, even a 25-minute flight from Kota Kinabalu to Labuan can scare the shit out of me! Wish me luck, will you?

All-Female Crew To Take To The Sky

An all-female crew -- save for one -- will take on to the sky on Tuesday, Sept 20, according to a report on Singapore news channel, Channel NewsAsia. I say, why not, for a change, eh? Would I be concerned if I were to be on that flight? I guess being concerned is a forgone conclusion. Aviophobics would still be concerned no matter who piloted an aircraft.

Here's what pilots -- and their co-pilots -- can do to help flight-scare people to remain calm during a flight: go on air every now and then, not just after the aircraft reach the cruising height and the minutes before descending.

Airlines Blacklisted

Several European countries have blacklisted over a dozen of airlines companies, citing safety concern. There was also a proposal for a common list of airlines being blacklisted from flying to European destinations but recent reports indicated that this is not going to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, individual countries are going ahead with issuing their own list.

France and Belgium had already done so while Switzerland said it will, shortly. More on this here.

Soaring Higher: Understanding A Lift

The Bernoulli's Principle


Wright's plane


Biggest aircraft, the Airbus A380

To be updated...it's 4.51am and I need to catch some sleep. See you in a few hours...in the meantime, feel free to leave a message, will you?

UPDATE: Now, it's time for the update after more than 24 hours and not the few hours as promised -- moral of the story: sleepy people should not make promises. I should strive to be more dedicated in maintaining this blog. And thank you legendarychipmunk and wong for the message.

The reason the Bernoulli's principle is in this entry is because back in school we were taught that an airplane lifts because of the dynamics between speed and pressure. The greater the speed, the lower the pressure and therefore the plane lifts.

That has been the way I described a lift. Today, I realised that was not entirely it.

According to this site, the issue of a lift should not be principled based on Bernoulli's theory alone. "There is nothing wrong with the Bernoulli principle, or with the statement that the air goes faster over the top of the wing," said David Anderson of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Scott Eberhardt of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Washington. However, there are other dynamics at work when a plane lifts, they said. Newton's is one of them.

But I would not go into disucssing the article, lest I second-guess what both experts are saying and be on the wrong side again. You can read the interesting article "How Airplanes Fly: A Physical Description of Lift" yourself.

Afraid To Fly? Carry A Parachute!

Those who are aviophobic or have fear of flying must carry a parachut everywhere and insist that they be seated next to the emergency exit!

10 Tops For The Fearful Flier: Expert advice on how to keep calm
By James Wysong, Travel columnist

How many times have you boarded a flight and noticed one or two passengers who are acting a bit peculiar? You might pass it off as stressful flight conditions or dissatisfaction with the airline, but they could be suffering from fear of flying. It becomes more evident as takeoff approaches. The wide-eyes, clenched fists, profuse sweating, and rocking motions are among its symptoms. The rest of the article here!

I guess I have not come to that stage of flight fright as yet -- I don't sweat profusely, my eyes don't go wide. In my case, the fear is perhaps still manageable.

I had a friend who has a company doing event managements back in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. A hard working person, he dreamt of making it big one day. Jugding from his determination to succeed, I had no doubt he will able to achieve his dream, if only he can overcome one big hurdle, one that can be summarised in my conversation with him as follows:

Him: I had thought of going to KL and see some people there. Here in Sabah, the opportunity for this kind of business is very limited.
Me: True, things do happen in KL. Look at those big guys there...
Him: My problem is I fear flying. Two and a half hours of flying, man, I could die up there!

A Lot Of Airlines Flying Ageing Aircraft

This is probably one of the reasons why I can't seem to be able to sooth my fear of flying -- that airline companies keep on using their old aircraft to transport people. If a car can break down mid-way, it's not impossible that aircraft can, in mid-air.

But unlike in road accidents, you can't go by the roadside and flag another for help in mid-air, you know that. There aren't many two ways about a plane crash -- you either die or die.

Aviation people say there are many more people who died in road accidents than in plane crashes. True. But there are also many more people who survive car crashes. What airlines can do to help aviophobic people like me to come to term with their "irrational fear of flying" is to be transparent -- service record of aircrafts must be made available to the passangers!

Financial Times online has this article, "Indonesian airliner crash highlights safety fears". Excerpt:

[...] When the Indonesian government bought 10 Boeing 737s from German carrier Lufthansa in 1994 for $90m (€72m, £49m), media reports were blunt in their assessment of what Jakarta was getting: the aircraft were universally described as either “ageing” or “surplus”.

But with the fatal crash on Monday of one of those aircraft one of two 737-200s given by the government of strongman Suharto to military-owned Mandala Airlines as part of a 1990s plan to boost Indonesia's airline industry the cynical assessments that accompanied the deal have yielded a grisly epilogue.

Indonesian officials said on Monday night that the cause of the crash remained unclear, with a spokesman for Mandala telling Reuters only that the initial assessment was that the aircraft had suffered “a take-off failure”.

The crash highlights what analysts say are growing safety concerns in Indonesia, where a rapidly expanding domestic air market in recent years has yielded a surge in both the number of new low-cost airlines and their financial problems.

Earlier this year the United Nations banned staff in East Timor from flying [...] (Source: Financial Times online)

In the meantime South African authorities are still investigating Saturday's helicopter crash at Richard Bay port.

Over 100 Feared Dead In Indonesia's Worst Air Disaster

Over 100 people are feared dead when a Mandala Airlines Boeing 737 flight crashed minutes after taking off from Medan Airport in Indonesia this morning. Update from Reuters:

MEDAN, Indonesia (Reuters) - At least 100 people are feared dead after a Boeing 737-200 crashed in the center of Indonesia's third biggest city on Monday just after takeoff, breaking into pieces and setting fire to homes and cars.
The plane, operated by local carrier Mandala Airlines, had 112 passengers and five crew on board, said Asril Tanjung, the airline's director. The cause of the crash in Medan city was being investigated, but foul play was highly unlikely, he said.

The plane slammed into the heart of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, sparking widespread panic, witnesses said. Hospital officials and witnesses said some of the dead were residents on the ground.

Edi Sofyan, a spokesman for the North Sumatra government, said there were no reports yet of any survivors. He added that the governor of the province was on board the flight.

"I expect the death toll to be around 100," said Sofyan.

Fierce flames licked at the wreckage as it lay on one of Medan's main roads. Cars and homes were also on fire and plumes of thick black smoke rose into the air as fire crews tried to extinguish the blazes. [...]

Geez!

Near Tragedy At Beijing Airport

A refuelling truck rammed a plane in Beijing Airport, AFP reports today.

BEIJING, Sept 5 (AFP) -- Beijing International Airport was lucky to avoid tragedy after a refuelling truck rammed a plane in one of two accidents at Chinese airports over the weekend, state press reported Monday.

The fuel truck hit a Finnair jet bound for Helsinki after refuelling it on Saturday, becoming lodged under the plane's wing, the China Daily said.

The newspaper described the situation as "tense" as frantic maintenance staff were forced to pump out eight tonnes of petrol from the plane and deflate the truck's tires to release it.

All 287 passengers on board were evacuated and no injuries were reported.Another scare occurred in the northern city of Xian where a cargo wagon slammed into a China Eastern Airlines plane late on Friday, perforating its fuselage, the report said.Nearly 100 passengers were transferred to another flight. (c) AFP

Geez! *Wipe sweat from the forehead*.

Ignorance Is Bliss?

I had refrained from reading anything about plane crashes thinking that the lesser I know about how plane could crash, the easier it is to deal with flight-scare. You can't be afraid of what you don't know, so goes my reasoning.

But the fear of flying does not seemed to go away. Perhaps I should do it the other way around -- to know as much as possible not only about what could go wrong during a flight, but also what security or safety measures aircraft makers put in place to deal with situations.

Aviophobia, Aviotophobia, Aerophobia

I googled the blogosphere to see if there are blogs that referenced Aviophobia or Aviotophobia or Aerophobia. Apparently there aren't many aviophobic bloggers out there. Here's how it fares on Technorati search.

Helicopter Crashes In Sarawak, Killing Three Russians

Yet another helicopter crash occurs in Sarawak, Malaysia's largest state, Saturday:

A logging helicopter crashed in Kapit Division, bursting into flames and killing three Russian nationals on board during heavy rain at about 3pm Saturday.

Kapit OCPD DSP Johar Ahmad, when contacted, confirmed the incident and said that investigation into the crash had begun.

The helicopter, of the KAMOV KA-32 model, was believed to be involved in winching logs to be transferred to waiting lorries which would remove them to the logging camp. (Source: Bernama)

This is the fifth crashes in the state this year, killing some 20 people. A Sarawak minister was quoted previously that he was now thinking twice before boarding a helicopter. That makes two of us, Mr Minister!

Flight Security and Flight Safety

What if, what if, what if...

Here are some aviation links that might be useful:

Flight safety manual

What can be learned from previous plane accidents

Some aviation news from www.landing.com

If you are a reporter, here's a useful resources for covering crashes

Here is another link that discusses about travel safety and security, about pregnant flying policy in the Americas, Eurpoe, Africa and Asia Pacific. Also touches issues of children traveling alone or what is usually termed as UMs or unaccompanied minors. The link also has an article that discusses issues facing people like who has flight phobias. Here's an excerpt:

You Are Not Alone!

Many people develop fears as they mature and life seems more precious, while others may have experienced a bad flight.

You may have a strong imagination, recently began a family, or feel a need to be in control. Young mothers often feel protective and nervous flying with their kids or babies. Regardless of how fears develop, those who suffer can experience sleepless nights, elevated anxiety, and fear of panic attacks.

Friends and family often don't understand the problems caused by a fear of flying.

Afraid To Fly

I am afraid to fly. I hope by blogging on this I can banish my ghost! Here I shall try to document issues about flight scare from the point of view of a man who is afraid of flying but nevertheless had to fly frequently.

Let's start with the definition. Anyone in the know what is the phobiatic term for someone who is afraid to fly?

UPDATE SEPT 2: Ah, it's called Aviophobia. Wikipedia has a an extensive explaination of the syndrome. It also listed among the notable people who suffer from it, including: Isaac Asimov, Dennis Bergkamp, Doris Day, The Dalai Lama, David Eddings, Aretha Franklin, Jackie Gleason, Jackie Jensen, Kim Jong-Il, Stanley Kubrick, Li Ao, Loretta Lynn, John Madden, Alan Price, Matthew Sweet, Billy Bob Thornton, Agnetha Fältskog, Wayne Coyne and Lars von Trier.