In the last post, we had a look at two misconceptions about flying & today we’re going to look at a few more of these. It is important to acknowledge that some people have a genuine fear of flying, but many people have fears because of what they’ve seen on TV & in movies. If people didn’t believe the aviation fiction they saw, we’d have far fewer nervous fliers.
Using your cellphone will cause the plane to crash.
No. Please never believe anyone who tells you this is true. Aircraft have numerous communication & navigation systems which transmit & receive on a very wide band of frequencies. However, there is absolutely no way your cellphone will somehow shut down the engines or start a fire. I highly recommend that you keep your mobile device on ‘Airplane Mode’ though. Most people use their cellphones during take-off & landing & this is not wise at all. Most incidents occur during these phases of flight & it is beneficial for you to be as aware as possible; a cellphone is a major distraction. Since most of my readers are from the USA, I should mention that the Federal Communications Commission prohibits the use of commercial mobile phones on aircraft. So whether it is dangerous or not, it is illegal.
Turbulence is a sign of imminent danger.
Movies always show turbulence right before a plane crash leading people to believe that turbulence equals crash. No, the airplane is not about to fall out of the sky. You should keep your seatbelt on whenever you are seated & if there is turbulence, don’t start walking around; that’s to protect yourself from falling or colliding with something moving around the cabin.
Flight attendants are glorified waitresses/waiters.
“The flight attendant asked us to fasten our seatbelts & I asked my buddy why the vending machine was talking.” This way of thinking is sad. Cabin crew are there for the safety of the passengers; airlines add food & beverage service as an additional benefit. Just because all you’ve ever seen them do is serve drinks & snacks, it doesn’t mean that is all their job entails. Quite the contrary actually. So much happens on flights & since a flight is thousands of feet above the ground & isolated from the rest of the world, cabin crew have to be able to deal with any situation that arises. Passengers give birth, passengers die, fires start, emergency landings happen, unruly passengers need to be restrained… the list is extensive & cabin crew have to be prepared & alert at all times. In the US, the Department of Homeland Security designated flight attendants as “first responders” (like police officers & paramedics), this wouldn’t have been done if it wasn’t accurate. Apart from all this, they often have the ability to speak multiple languages, they have to work under extreme time constraints & they have their appearance & grooming intensely scrutinized. They carry an immense amount of responsibility & often get treated rather poorly.
That’s it for this post. Follow this blog & there will be another post on this topic soon. Use #DanVentureTravels & like the Facebook page for other updates.
Keep traveling, keep safe.
DanVenture Travels
DanVenture Travels 
Thank you for this useful post 👍Discovered a couple of things that I didn’t fully realise about the aviation 😊
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Excellent Dan-this useful and interesting stuff – well done!
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Reblogged this on SirPeterJames.com and commented:
Every person who has ever flown commercially, or intends to fly, needs to read this series.
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My travel buddy absolutely LOVES turbulence. It’s a joy to see his face light up when the plane starts bouncing around. I’m slightly less excited about it, simply because it can trigger motion sickness in me. But that’s only happened a couple of times in all the flights I’ve taken, so usually I just join in the laughter with him.
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Good stuff. Thank you. I’d like to add a thought about turbulence. A couple of years ago I was on a flight that experienced severe turbulence. the airplane got toss around quite a bit more than I had ever experienced. I had an opportunity to talk to the pilot later and asked, at what point does he take over from the autopilot. I’ve been involved in commercial aviation over 30 years and his response still surprised me. He said he would seldom take over. Autopilot handled the entire situation.
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Over the years, I have either gotten more used to turbulence or the technology of planes has improved enough that it rarely bothers me any more. Great article on misconceptions about flying.
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thanks for sharing dan.
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Enjoyed these posts. I’m not much on flying. Not because of the myths but because of clostraphobia…I don’t think I spelled that correctly…anyway enclosed places.
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Makes me sad that people think of airline attendants like this. Like you say, they have to be prepared for anything which is why the selection process and training is so rigorous. In fact, scratch, that, having all that training, experience AND having to deal with the general public as well? They all deserve a medal and a raise!
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Loved you followed up with this and especially that you addressed the flight attendants. I have several friends who are flight attendants (or were, a couple have unfortunately had to find new jobs now), but they really hate the people who treat them as “servers of the sky.” Because they really do do more. Another great post!
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I needed this! Thank you……
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Brilliant posts!
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Spreading great awareness. Thank you!! Makes my job easier.
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