Fear Of Flying: Top Ten Most Mysterious Airplane Incidents

Are you somebody who hates to fly? I am. As a result I tend to get overly interested in the stories and news reports that flood the airwaves after something bad happens involving planes. Particularly bad things that can't be explained. The most recent addition to this list is last week's report of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 plane, which overshot its destination by 150 miles (ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES). This story, which is scary but thankfully not tragic, comes on the heels of a year that seems strangely packed with reports of crashing planes. As a result, I thought it might be good therapy (face your fear!) to compile a short post listing some of the more mysterious, and famous plane incidents whose details tend to plague me shortly before take off (side note: for whatever reason, despite having been in NYC during 9/11, terrorism has never factored into my pre-flight panic). Turns out, not so much. After penning this post I may never fly again. Also, be warned: searching "plane crash" on YouTube can lead you down a rather frightening rabbit hole that, in my case, eventually resulted in my watching a video taken on a plane while it was crashing. Lesson learned! Ignorance is bliss and facing your fear of flying on YouTube is not one of the smarter ideas I've had, unless you perhaps are someone who has stocks in Greyhound, and then it may be one of the smarter, yet-to-be exploited, advertising campaigns out there. Back to last week. The pilots of Flight 188 have since testified that they were distracted by their laptops and didn't realize they had overshot their mark. As someone who spends much of her life on the Internets this is somehow a less frightening scenario than the idea that both pilots had fallen asleep (or merely grown bored), which was what many people originally assumed. I tend to rest, somewhat assured, that the laptop-engaged pilots would have eventually seen reports of their wayward plane on Twitter before, say, being shot down by the four National Guard jets that were put on standby. A number of these other scenarios, however, did not have such happy endings, or clear cut explanations, and it tends to be these stories I recall on my way to the airport. NEXT>>>Air France Flight 447 'Disappears' Air France Flight 447 'Disappears' In terms of scariest flying stories I think this is it. I imagine the fate of Air France 447 will haunt many people, including experts, for years to come, primarily because the actual reason for the flight's 'disappearance' (that was the term the NYT used the next morning) off the the coast of Brazil in June, has yet to be determined. We are continually told that planes do not crash because of lightning or turbulence. Do not. Ever. Except it looks like this one did. NEXT>>> The Mystery of Colgan Air (Continental Connection) Flight 3407 The Mystery of Colgan Air (Continental Connection) Flight 3407 The other week I flew this exact model of plane, the almost exact same route (to Toronto) and it was fine. Just fine. Apparently turbo prop planes are very safe. Also better on fuel. Patrick Smith at Salon has smarter things to say on this, and if you suffer from a fear of flying he also provides a nice calming voice. That said, why this plane suddenly crashed 5 miles from the airport has yet to be fully determined, though pilot error seems the most likely cause. NEXT>>> Planes Collide Over The Amazon Planes Collide Over The Amazon Do you remember this? A few years ago a private American jet collided with a Brazilian passenger plane in mid-air. The jet survived and landed safely -- New York Times reporter Joe Sharkey was on board and lived to tell his story -- but the passenger plane was tragically lost. This is also how I learned that planes going in different directions are required to fly at different, and specific, altitudes, though it was never actually determined why these planes were flying at the same height. NEXT>>> Bermuda Triangle Bermuda Triangle Do bad things still happen over the Bermuda Triangle? Or was this just one of those pre-technology mysteries that make for good documentaries? No idea. Probably I've flown over it numerous times and just not known, like I said, ignorance is bliss. However, the 'Devil's triangle' certainly still makes for good storytelling. NEXT>>> Payne Stewart Payne Stewart What a difference two years make. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the sad death of famed (and young) golfer Payne Stewart in 1999 is that the private Lear jet he was on lost contact shortly after take off and then proceeded to fly fifteen hundred miles before crashing into a field. For better or for worse, it's hard to imagine that being a scenario that would repeat itself in a post 9/11 world without creating an a national security incident, which would put balloon boy to shame. NEXT>>> TWA Flight 800 TWA Flight 800 Rumors still persist that this 1996 passenger flight, which exploded over the Atlantic shortly after takeoff from J.F.K., was actually shot down by a missile, or was the victim of some other act of terrorism. This was five years before 9/11. Eventually it was determined there was no evidence to support the terrorism theory and experts concluded that "the probable cause of the accident was an explosion of the center wing fuel tank, most likely as a result of faulty wiring." Faulty wiring happens to be something I think a lot about during takeoff. NEXT>>> Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Are you familiar with this story? If not, there is a big biopic starring Hillary Swank as Earhart that is about to hit theaters. Short version is that Earhart was a very brave, talented, beautiful, adventurous woman, whose plane disappeared over the Pacific whilst attempting an around the world trip. This, of course, was back in the time when flying was both glamorous and adventurous, and before airlines made the entire experience similar to what I imagine purgatory (or worse) to be. NEXT>>> The Day The Music Died The Day The Music Died The plane crash that killed musicians Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens remains famous in the cultural zeitgeist for a number of reasons: Holly, who was only 21(!) at the time of his death, was preternaturally talented and his music remains popular still; La Bamba, the movie which launched Lou Diamond Phillips career was based on Valens' life; and the now iconic song 'American Pie' by Don McLean was inspired by the plane crash. The reason for the crash itself was blamed on bad Midwestern winter weather, though for years strange rumors circulated that the pilot had actually been shot. NEXT>>> SULLY SULLY I am adding this in because it is the one surefire rationale against every scary scenario that plagues the mind pre-takeoff: There is always the possibility, however small, that Capt. Sullenberger, or his equivalent, will be helming your distressed plane and land it safely ON THE HUDSON in the middle of January whereupon you, and every single other person aboard, will be rescued by the Staten Island Ferry and a bunch of do-gooder New Yorkers. It not only could happen, it has happened!

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Fear Of Flying: Top Ten Most Mysterious Airplane Incidents

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