My fear isn’t even crashing. My fear is being enclosed with no way out until I land. The fear of being so high in the sky.

The best comment I’ve read was “ There are about 100,000 flights that take off and land everyday and guess how many of them land?....all of them ...”

"Planes are designed to take a lot more turbulence than you are." That's the magic phrase for me. Thank you.

My biggest fear isn't crashing and burning, my fear is that there will be a moment when I know it will happen, but there is nothing I can do about it.

I have had anxiety about flying for about 25 years.  I was in my 20s when the fear began.  I have flown many times since then, always terrified with the sweaty palms an all like you mention in this video.  In the last 2 years or so I have begun to get over my fear of flying.  I even get up from my seat and stand in line for the restroom.  Something I could never do before.  What I have done to get rid of my fear, is always made it a point to chose a window seat.  When the plane begins to bump, I look out the window and realize that it’s hardly even moving.   During my times of fear in the past, I used to sit away from the window and would imagine the plane all over the place during the bumps.  For me sitting by the window definitely helps.   Also, I understand that when flying through a cloud the plane will bump a little because of the unstable air that is the cloud.  Understanding this along with looking out the window, I can predict the turbulence before it happens and mentally prepare myself off it.  Also it’s good to know that pilots avoid flying through clouds for extended periods of time, so I know the turbulence will only be brief.  
This may sound like a lot to think about, but it helps me.   I recently flew to Rome Italy form NY.  A nearly 9 hour flight, a flight I never imagined I could take because of my fear, and I kid you not, I wasn’t scared at all for even a second.  The flight was pretty smooth so I’m sure that helped, but the flight coming back was quite bumpy at times and I never once felt afraid.   It’s taken me over 20+ years to overcome my fear but this worked for me.  In the past, the mere thought of getting on a plane got my heart racing, and today I’m looking forward to one day soon flying to Japan.  I’m actually excited about the thought.

I used to be very afraid of flying and have a very hard time every time I was visiting my girlfriend living abroad 2 hours by plane. I used to think that a long distance flight of 12h would be hell, but it actually help me overcome my fear. In a 2 hour flight your body can be in a state if fear for the whole duration. But in a 12h flight there’s a point where you just forget about the fear and suddenly you realize you haven’t been afraid for the last 30 mins and this is the start of the solution. Nowadays I take about 60-70 flights per year.

Watching your video I just realized something profound for me…and that is, I don’t have a fear of flying. I have a fear of NOT being in control. And how often are we put in actual intense situations that we can’t control? Not too often. So flying is an extreme situation where I definitely don’t have control. And my need for control comes from me wanting to feel safe and okay. So if I don’t have control, my unconscious mind perceives a possible threat and breach of safety. Damn. I’ve literally flown almost 25 times in my life and my fear is ALWAYS the same. And here I still am. Here WE still are, despite our fear of flying *not having control.

I’m not afraid of flying, but for some reason I enjoy watching fear of flying videos. Hmmm

Couple more thoughts that might help: The plane is constructed so that it is supported under the fuselage as well as the wings; it's EXACTLY the same as being in a speedboat, EXCEPT YOU CAN'T SEE THE WATER. It's still there, but it's perfectly see-through. The bumps are the same as the ripples on a lake or bumps in a road, which no one thinks about at all. Another thing: the pilots know the odds; they're bright folks; most of them make multiple flights per day for DECADES. They wouldn't do it if there was a remotely realistic chance of crashing, even after thousands of flights. It's one in 3 million flights. One in 11 million people. It simply doesn't happen, so matter what it FEELS like.

Well, I have not flown a lot, but here is the thing that helped me and still helps me. It may sound crazy and not very feasible, but just let me explain. I have not flown until the age of 30. I avoided that every time there was a possibility. I was not interested in aviation and I did not understand how can a heavy aircraft stay in the air. But I got married and I promised my wife to go on a honeymoon which was reachable solely by plane.

And here is my cure:
1) I received a gift for my 30th birthday from my parents. The gift was a voucher from a local company that I can try to fly a small Cessna. At first, I was scared, but by then I decided to go for it. TLDR the flight was not that bad even though there were severe wind gusts and turbulence - the real recipe for success was the fact I saw the pilot working his job. I was sitting next to him, having my own speakers on, I heard him communicating with the ATC, I saw him flying the aeroplane beside me, we landed like 6 times, I even held the yoke and controlled the aircraft by myself for a while and.... I liked it. Even though the turbulence was horrible and my stomach was not entirely happy, I was not scared, I enjoyed that. I saw the pilot who did landing in wind gusts as calm as I take my morning shower.  

2) I started to become interested in aviation. I installed a flight simulator on my computer a tried to fly a Boeing 737 with video tutorials. Took me three months to fly a 737 in a flight simulator with no crashes. I played the game every evening and since 2017 I haven't crashed. I, a non-pilot. What about the guys in the sky who do it every day for 8 hours, training for almost everything?

3) I decided to watch the Mayday series and at first, it felt like a drawback, but then I realised that every single potential failure was reflected in standard procedures (concealing of pitot tubes, 80-knot callout), everything pilots do has a story behind it and every crash or incident led to increased safety, which is not true for maritime, not true for buses nor cars. No industry is such fail-safe oriented as aviation.

4) I opened flight radar 24 and saw the sea of planes and then I opened my mind to stats and found this. Every 2 seconds there is a 737 taking off or landing. The same goes for Airbus A320 + there are other planes. How many crashes are there annually? RIP to those who died in an air crash, but statistically, they were incredibly lucky. Having Aerophobia is similar to waking up every day and having "fear" that today I will win a lottery. For millions and millions of people, it is not going to happen. The same goes for air crashes. There is a much higher probability of dying in a transfer to the airport than itself in an aircraft. Actually, a flying aircraft is the safest place "on earth" to be.

I hate check-in, inspections, boarding and take-offs, but I always remember what I said above.

The cure is, when sometimes I feel uncomfortable, to enjoy beautiful views, and technological progress allowing humans to fly and to watch others doing the same. I am not a frequent flyer, so for me, flying is an occasion. I made a deal with myself to enjoy it every time, I have a chance to. Remember, being on a flying aircraft is the safest place to be.

Btw. landing in the Cessna is in my videos as well as my visit in Boeing 737 simulator. It was an adventure and I enjoyed that.

My fear of flying comes from knowing that I'm 30,000 feet in the air without the ability to walk out of the airplane in case of an emergency. Secondly, the fact that I'm afraid of heights, and lastly I fear that due to the nervousness of being on the plane I'm going get a heart attack. I last flew in 2016 and was very nervous but I did not think about it the way I do now. Just wish there was a way to erase those irrational thoughts out of my head.

I still get a bit nervous while flying. I think I haven't managed to overcome my fear, but I can control it.
I realized it all came from my pretty wild imagination and that comes from not knowing exactly what's going on. So, the first thing I did was watching videos of how do airplanes work and how much of a turbulence they can take. I watched a video after a pretty wild turbulence where everything ended up out of place, even the crew got hurt, but the plane was now flying calmly. That's when I realized "damn, planes sure are sturdy!"
The next thing was NOT to close my eyes, specially during take-offs, as I usually did. That's when your imagination starts to play dirty... You need to actually see what's going on so your imagination doesn't kick-off. You are not alone. See how people around you are so calm. Think "you are right here and right now". Your ground is the airplane's floor, not the one below it. Allow yourself to get distracted by anything around you: a baby crying, people talking, think of how beautiful (or ugly 😅) a passenger is. Anything goes!

I know for me, I am not afraid of crashing. I understand that a if a plane were to crash, that I would be killed instantly without suffering, so that doesn't scare me. The main thing that scares me is being off the ground. I don't like the idea of not being on the ground. I have to fly from Little Rock to Seattle in September so I am working to conquer my fear of flying. I think if I wear a blindfold the whole flight, I will be able to do it.

Watch this video everytime before I get on a plane, really appreciate this guy.

I try this on all my flights- say many things like 'if you can pretend to not be scared you'll win money' but nope, always scared every time

There is one more important thing you need to do to overcome the fear of flying, which is to accept the worst - that you may actually die. In other words, you need to come to terms with the idea of death as a real possibility - and AFFIRM it. Make your peace with death. This can be difficult but very helpful if you have a fear of flying. After my father died 2 years ago, I had very little or no fear of flying when I flew to visit his gravesite. This is because I was numb emotionally and I was comforted by the thought that even if I die, I would be in the same state as my dad (and perhaps closer to him in some way).  I also recommend the book “Meditations” by the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.  This book changed me. Thanks for your video. It was very helpful.

Aero phobia like every other specific phobia makes us think in an illogical way. Very often thinking straight is simply not an option. It’s good to try, though.

Took a 4 hour flight from Ottawa to edmonton.  I was white knuckled in a trance the whole time.  After I got off, I was still feeling vertigo. I got so scared that 2 days before I had to leave to come back,  I rented a uhaul and drove over 3000km.

I am getting on another plane to go to punta cana this weekend, and I'm thinking repeating what he said as a mantra might help.  

Wish me luck !

I watched this because I hadn't been on a plane for six years and was never a good passenger. The technique in combination with some others worked well for me: "I choose to enjoy this", plus counting back from five with slow breathing and focusing on what I know I will enjoy when I finish my journey.

I’m being serious right now. As an 11 year old girl who has terrible flight anxiety, who cries  before the flight even takes off, this honestly maybe changed my childhood. I have to go on two flights in a few days and I have been desperate to find a video to help me with my anxiety. Quite obviously, it weighs on my whole family each day we have to step onto an airplane. I was waist if my whole vacay on worrying about something that’s not in my control. No matter how much advice one could possibly give me, nothing would work. I have watched maybe 8 videos today trying to help. This video helped me so much. As I get onto a plane in a few days, I will probably still be uncomfortable, but I have this gut feeling that this video has changed my life. Thank you so much. I truly appreciate this video. I just want you to know, you have changed a young girl’s life with one video. Thank you. I hope you have the most amazing day ever. Thank you so much. My parents will thank you too😂