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What do you say when...

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by boffin218, Jan 28, 2006.

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  1. boffin218

    boffin218 Formula Junior

    Oct 8, 2005
    888
    Philadelphia
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #1 boffin218, Jan 28, 2006
    I was out with some friends the other night and, while chatting up some women, the topic of flying came up. A friend was complaining about a bumpy landing and I couldn't resist a quick comment or two. Anyway, as we're talking one of the girls looks at me wide-eyed and says "You mean, you know how to land a plane?"

    I resisted the urge to say "nope, I missed that day in flight school" and assured her that I did.

    Then came the real comment: "How can you do that? I'd never fly, it's _way_ too dangerous."


    I went with the "it's not that dangerous ... if it were I wouldn't do it" response, but it got me thinking. What do you say to people who think that aviation is akin to smothering yourself in A1 steak sauce and then hopping into a cage of hungry lions? Do you try and convince them otherwise, or do you just sit back and soak up the adulation ("Yeah, I'm a daredevil. James Bond is a sissy compared to me")
     
  2. Skyraider

    Skyraider Formula Junior

    Nov 4, 2005
    620
    #2 Skyraider, Jan 28, 2006
    Take the daredevil route....
    rule #1
    Trying to convince people that haven't a clue, and are convinced otherwise,
    will only make you, new enemies.

    On the other hand, if they're open to new ideas, well then by all means
    explain the dangers of crossing the street... and let them know that
    just because they do it every day, doesn't make it safer than flying.

    Feed them statistics. In 2001 alone,
    For just New York, (pop. 6 million ) 331,979 total incidents
    involving pedestrian, motor vehicle.... 17,784
    Fatal pedestrian accidents................ 358
    That's just for New York.
    Source
    http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/Statistics/acc2001.htm

    Aviation fatalaties same year... ( worldwide...I think....)
    Year .......Incidents......... Fatalaties
    2001 .........37.................... 808

    In the years from 1945, to 2005,
    In all of North America there were
    .........828........Aviation accidents
    .....12, 588 .......Fatalaties

    Check it out!!
    http://aviation-safety.net/statistics/geographical/continents.php

    make copies of this and take it with you.... :)
    Mind you Rule #1.... :)
    then, see what they say.

    .
     
  3. rfking

    rfking Formula Junior

    Nov 16, 2003
    785
    Italy
    #3 rfking, Jan 29, 2006
    A phobia is an irrational belief - it does little good to make rational arguments to counter an irrational belief.

    Your statistics ignore the fact that most all New Yorkers, for example, are subject to being killed in or by an automobile every day. For this reason the accident rate should be far greater than for airplane travel, since the average New Yorker probably rarely if ever gets close to an airplane - so how could they get killed in an aircraft accident.

    The way to measure risk is by comparing passenger miles to passenger miles.
    On that basis, your risk of dying in an aircraft accident is still less than half of that in an automobile - so the statistics still support the overall safety of flying.
     
  4. Skyraider

    Skyraider Formula Junior

    Nov 4, 2005
    620
    #4 Skyraider, Jan 29, 2006
    Agreed 100% Re: Phobias.
    But sometimes, it's just ignorance of the facts, or misinformation from people that "think" they know, and not a phobia.

    Re:statistics:
    Hopefully, that was interploated from common sense.
    Which is why I said, re: street crossing;
    " ...and let them know that just because they do it every day, doesn't make it safer than flying"
    inferring that, they didn't fly daily

    I tried to point out that, in 2001
    in NY alone, there were 358 deaths in 2001 from pedestrian/ automobile incidents

    And that worldwide, for 2001, there were only 808 Aviation related deaths.
    (discounting: murder, suicides, hijackings, or other terrorist activities.)

    The point being that just pedestrian deaths, from automobiles in NY,
    (not all traffic fatalities) were equal to half of the worldwide aviation related deaths

    If I were comparing all aircraft deaths to all traffic deaths, then yes, I would certainly do it on a passenger miles, to passenger miles, basis.

    I apologize if I didn't make that entirely clear. :)
     

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