I’ve been asked to write this article by a reader of Flying Fear. If you have a subject you would like me to write about, please contact me.
I wrote an article on medical emergencies a few months ago, and stated that on the average flight the aircraft can land within 30 minutes – and therefore in the event of a medical emergency onboard, professional help is never far away. You can read the original article by clicking here. [click to continue reading this article…]
Another ‘trigger’ for a fear of flying appears to be the possibility of having a medical emergency during the flight. I’ve had many questions on this subject, so I thought I’d cover it here.
A medical emergency is obviously not a good thing – whether you are airborne or not. Let’s say we have someone suffering a heart attack at home. You obviously call 999 (or the appropriate emergency number for your country!). If you live in a built up area, then you may be lucky to get a paramedic within about 15 minutes. If you live further out, maybe 30 minutes – or more. [click to continue reading this article…]
You may have experienced this in the past, or possibly will do in the future. You are on the final approach to your destination, the landing gear is down, and you are looking forward to getting some fresh air. Suddenly, the landing gear is retracted, and you shoot back up into the sky.
A flight attendant will say something along the lines of the following over the PA system;
Ladies & gentlemen, for operational reasons the captain has decided to climb back up rather than continue with the landing. This is a completely normal procedure, and the pilots will give you more information shortly. Please stay in your seats with your seatbelts fastened.
This is what’s called a [click to continue reading this article…]
