Fear of flying, sometimes referred to as ‘aerophobia’, is extremely common in men and women of all ages, from all corners of the earth. Every single day, people from all over the world, jump on airplanes and journey hundreds and thousands of miles in a matter of hours. Despite air travel being such an important form of transport in the modern world, millions and millions of people are still absolutely terrified of flying, some of which often elect to use other forms of transport, coach of boat for example, which adds hours, and sometimes even days to their journeys. But are these people’s fears logical and rational, or are these people over-reacting.
Well, statistically, air travel is actually the safest form of transport, with far fewer deaths resulting from plane crashes than any other form of transport. People say that you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to be involved in a plane crash, yet despite this, plane crashes are still entirely possible, and unfortunately, are almost entirely fatal. We say almost, because recently, CNN ran a documentary entitled ‘Sole Survivor’ which chronicled the extraordinary stories of individuals who had been involved in a plane crash, which resulted in one of them being the only living person to survive the horrific accident. Sole Survivor was a gripping and touching documentary, which followed 17 year old, George Lamson Jr., who was the sole survivor of Galaxy airlines flight 203, which crashed in the State of Nevada, killing his father along with all of the other passengers onboard the doomed vessel.
Since air travel was made commercial, there have been only fourteen cases of a crash which left one lone survivor amidst the wreckage and ruin, Lamson being one of the fourteen. Nearly 30 years on from the doomed flight 203, the documentary follows Lamson, as he attempts to meet the other 13 survivors, to connect with them, share stories with them, and interact with them on a highly emotional level.
What about other cases of plane crashes?
When people think of plane crashes, they often picture huge jumbo jets, Boeing 737’s perhaps, packed full of innocent people, on their way to a well deserved vacation in the sun maybe. However, the truth is that plane crashes are far more common in much smaller aircrafts, piloted by one or two people. Recently, a mid-Michigan native by the name of Todd Lloyd, was killed when his single engine plane crashed in Charleviox County. Along with Lloyd, was 38 year old Christopher Neumann, was also killed in the crash. The cause of the crash is not yet clear, but investigations are currently underway.
There was recently another incident in Iceland, in which a plane carrying three people, including one pilot, crashed onto a runway and exploded into a ball of flames. The pilot survived, but sadly the two passengers lost their lives.
Whether it is large aircrafts, or small privately piloted ones, the facts remain that crashes can, and do happen in the world. With that being said, air travel is still an extremely safe way of travelling, and the risks involved are extremely minor indeed. Every day, engineers all over the planet are devising new methods and new equipment to help make air travel even safer than it currently is, in a bid to ensure that people like George Lamson Jr., never have to go through similar ordeals ever again.
George Lamson, Jr. speaks openely about his ordeal and has written a great deal about it for CNN.