On every flight I have ever taken, I get an overwhelming premonition that the flight will crash - just as they close the cabin door. Even I know this is silly, since I am still alive.

And thanks that no one recommended fear of flying classes. Why would I want to go to a class where they try to convince me that a multi-ton sardine can is safe, when I am sure it is not.

Second thanks to those warning about Las Vegas, as it is our transfer city on trip in 3 weeks.

I need to fly for work frequently and as I get older, I have become far more nervous. While intellectually I know that flying is safer than driving, I get mentally worked up days before my flights. I worry about turbulences and am very anxious about take-off, Many years ago, I took a flight when the pilot aborted a 747 take-off due to some "cable problem" as he did not get sufficient power. Since then, I worry incessantly during take-off, terrified that the plane cant climb up. On clear days I worry about wind shear, on cloudy days I worry about turbulence. I now live in Hong Kong and the airport is known for wind shears. I love to travel and had it not been for my fear of flying, I probably would be traveling every week. Any insights on takeoff anxieties?

Try Dr Bach rescue remedy - comes as a spray onto tongue for instant calming or as a lozenge.

My wife is convinced it is the only thing that keeps her sane on a flight. My daughter is now more relaxed for her exams.

It is a natural remedy & helps reduce anxiety.

SophiaMaple - Take off. I can only present some facts to you so here we go.

All airliners are licenced and checked to what is known as Performance A standards. What this means is that if at any point during the take off an engine fails then the aircraft will either be able to continue the take off and climb safely (and miss anything in the way) or will be able to stop safely in the runway distance remaining. With that there isn't any decision that the pilot need make. The decision is made for him when the take off performance is calculated for the weight and weather conditions etc of the day. He will either go safely, or abort the take off safely, under control at all times. Two or four engines, it doesn't matter.

All airline companies have strict operating procedures to comply with this and there crews practice such emergencies regularly in flight simulators. Bottom line - if there is a problem there is not a lot of skill required from the crew, it's all pre-decided and practiced.

I don't know if this is of any use to use those posting here. I find these posts interesting to read. I suspect that there are more white-knucklers on flights than is obvious sometimes.

I dislike airline flying because of the general airport experience, and then being cooped up in cattle class if you have to go that way is gruesome. Knowing what is going on is more of a help.

gail, you and I must be soulmates! I also get the same premonition which is now somewhat alleviated as we are no longer traveling w/our son as he is safely off living his own life in LA and is virtually never on the same plane w/us. At least now the premonition does not include guilt!

Seriously though, re: your Las Vegas landing, I spoke to the pilot when we landed there once and asked him if the bumpiness is normal and/or dangerous. He told me that hot air currents rise up off the desert and that is the source of the bumpy descent into LV. His nonchalance reassured me that they are well-versed in this and that it is completely a non-issue as far as safety is concerned.

I am on long record here (somewhere back in Fodors history) about how useless the comparison with driving is, because if you're in the mindset of comparing catastrophes, you're already upping the fright index for yourself. Yes, let's all look at horrible things that happen in life and then arrange them on a scale of probability. You'll go to bed thinking about being hit by lightning, drowning in a submerged car, bitten by rabid raccoons, crashing in a jumbo jet, or crushed by a falling piano.

scarboroughmom, et al: 1. Take off as early in the day as you can stand. 2. Check the aviation map at weather.com ( http://tinyurl.com/6a27pm ) so you'll know what to expect -- if it starts to bump over Ohio and you've seen a weather front stretching from Buffalo back to Kentucky, you'll know what's happening and that it will be over with when you get west of the front. 3. Distract yourself with something -- iPod music or comedy or audiobook; crossword, etc. 4. Figure it's rare that turbulence lasts more than 30 min. or in an average flight, and even in an exceptional flight, know that the captain doesn't want to be there any more than you do. 5. post on Fodors to find out useful info such as the info about bumpiness going in and out of Las Vegas (or anywhere in the Rockies, I'm afraid -- I refuse to connect in Denver for that reason). 6. Remember that this time yesterday you were fine and on the ground, and this time tomorrow you'll be fine and on the ground. Whatever's going on now will be soon over, and you'll be enjoying your destination without a thought about planes.

stfc, thank you for your insights. I have a flight in 8 hours.

You're welcome, hope you have a great trip. Here's something to take your mind off things - I, as with many of my fellow aviators, detest heights. I have real problems at the top of high buildings and cliffs etc. Bungee jumping is all my nightmares come true. Yet I have no problems flying, even at low level. Why, I wonder?

Hong Kong, eh? Haven't been there since we gave it back to China. I'll have to revisit when I retire next year.

stfc, it is because there is no visual connection between you and the ground. I've been in aviation for over 40 years and know lots of pilots who get shaky when on a ladder or on top of a tall building...because they can see the connection between where they are and the ground. In a plane, you're just suspended there and the sensation is not the same. Nothing like seeing a sunset at 30,000 feet or so and thinking "Just another day at the office."

An anecdote from one white knuckler to the others out there. As a family, we were touring the FBI Building (10+ years ago) and there was a big display about, I think, the Lockerbie air disaster. My son, then 10 or so, was going on and on about how he'll never fly again. A woman in front of us turned around and said something to the effect of "why don't you tell him how much safer it is to fly than to drive?" To which my son replied - "great, now I'll never get in a car either!" (Said son is now 23 and living in Kampala, Uganda, and believe me, he didn't get there by boat )

Bobmrg, yes, I've considered that to be a possibility for a long time. But I still have the same anxious feeling on a balcony when it is not possible to see the building below due to the overhang. But hovering a helicopter which I've only done a few times doesn't give me any worries (apart from being in a helicopter!)

I suspect it is more to do with having a window between me and the elements to provide imagined shelter. It is the sensation of fresh air and a breeze that gives rise to the imagined possibility of falling that is the problem. I've only once flown with an open cockpit, which was enjoyable, but I wouldn't have been keen to do any aerobatics, harness or not. I have full respect for the pilots of WW1 and that early era.