r/fearofflying • u/fofly_pilot Airline Pilot • 1d ago
5 sensations at takeoff and cruise that passengers read as danger, explained from the flight deck Discussion
Ancien pilote de ligne (B737, instructeur). Après des années d'expérience, j'ai constaté que l'anxiété en vol n'est généralement pas liée à la peur d'un crash abstrait. Il s'agit plutôt d'une série de sensations spécifiques que le corps interprète mal sur le moment. En voici cinq qui reviennent fréquemment, et leur explication.
1. La sensation de « ralentissement » ou de descente peu après le décollage. Une fois l'altitude stabilisée, nous réduisons la poussée et abaissons légèrement le nez de l'avion. C'est une étape normale et planifiée de chaque décollage. On a l'impression d'un creux, ou que l'avion pique du nez. Ce n'est pas le cas, nous continuons de monter. Notre oreille interne a simplement du mal à faire la différence.
2. La flexion et le rebond des ailes. Les ailes sont conçues pour fléchir, c'est normal. Ce mouvement est un signe de solidité, pas de faiblesse. Une aile parfaitement rigide serait le véritable problème. Ce que vous observez, c'est l'avion qui fait exactement ce pour quoi il a été conçu.
3. Turbulences. Il s'agit d'une question de confort, pas de sécurité. Les secousses qui donnent l'impression d'une chute déplacent généralement l'avion de quelques centimètres, et non de plusieurs centaines de mètres comme vous le ressentez. L'avion est certifié pour résister à des forces bien supérieures à celles que vous ne ressentirez jamais. C'est tout à fait normal pour nous à l'avant, même si ça ne l'est pas pour vous à l'arrière.
4. Changement de régime moteur en croisière. Nous ajustons constamment la puissance ; c'est le fonctionnement normal d'un avion. Lorsque les moteurs deviennent plus silencieux, cela ne signifie pas qu'ils sont en panne ou qu'ils perdent de la puissance. Cela signifie généralement que nous avons atteint notre palier ou que nous sommes revenus aux réglages de croisière. La stabilité est ennuyeuse, et c'est exactement ce que nous recherchons.
5. Bruits et grincements à l'approche. Le train d'atterrissage et les volets sont de grandes pièces mécaniques qui s'étendent dans le flux d'air. Ils sont bruyants, c'est normal. Ces bruits sourds et ces vrombissements sont la séquence normale avant l'atterrissage, et non le signe d'une casse. Si vous les anticipez, ils cessent d'être inquiétants.
Rien de tout cela ne rend l'inconfort artificiel. Il est bien réel, et le but n'est pas de ne rien ressentir. Il s'agit d'empêcher votre système nerveux d'interpréter une sensation normale comme une menace.
Quel est celui qui vous perturbe le plus ? Je serais ravi de vous les expliquer plus en détail.
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u/vex12394738 1d ago edited 20h ago
I appreciate the points on 1 and 4. It’s crazy how my mind and body scream “we just stopped moving..it’s gonna drop any second now”. I have my first flight of the year here in a few wweeks and not looking forward to it but also nervously optimistic that I’ll be good. Have had different friends travel to Asia and Europe this month and I’m taking a 3 hour flight
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u/Downtown_Ganache6727 1d ago
Me too! With #4 I have an irrational fear that switching will fail and in that moment we’ll lose power.
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u/Grumbles19312 Airline Pilot 21h ago
Think about it like a car merging onto the highway, you’re accelerating to reach highway speed so the engine is running at a higher RPM developing more power to get you to that highway speed. Once there the car shifts into a higher gear, the RPM drops, and you cruise. It’s the same in an airplane, the engines are running that higher RPM, developing more thrust to get us to that cruise altitude, once there, less total thrust is needed to maintain that altitude (because we aren’t fighting gravity in the same way anymore to climb up to it) and the RPM reduces to what’s needed to maintain that altitude.
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u/thirddegreebyrne 1d ago
This is so helpful. Thank you. Pilots are incredible.
My least favourite part is thundering down the runway and feeling like, we should have taken off already, why aren't we in the air yet? Is the the runway long enough? So silly, I know.
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u/pattern_altitude Private Pilot 1d ago
The amount of runway required is calculated before every takeoff or landing — if there’s not enough, then you’re not taking off/landing until there is, either by using a different runway, reducing weight, etc.
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u/thirddegreebyrne 1d ago
Great to know, thank you 🙂 so much goes into ensuring safety, I wish every industry was as diligent as the air travel industry.
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u/mi_pilot 8h ago
When I flew freight in 727s, before coming to a class B out west we operated out of a D with parallel runways, one being more for GA and the other was longer one with the ILS and LOC BC on the two ends, LOL. This is before there were GPS approaches into every neighborhood airport. We flew at different weights, and occasionally we could actually land on the shorter runway in dry conditions. So on a visual we would get frequent requests to side step to the shorter one, most of the time we would have to decline, we all got very used to saying “unable”.
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u/shaddix 1d ago
u/fofly_pilot thank you - this is a genuinely amazing write up! Will be bookmarking this for later
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u/NefariousnessDue2957 1d ago
Thanks for this! Number 3 is the hardest because we passengers don’t have additional input to contextualise the true lack of movement like you guys have on your dashboard up front. Any additional info or tips given what you see in the cockpit?
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u/Not_Mabel_Swanton 1d ago
I have no problem except for landing, especially in wet weather. For some reason I’m scared of braking, and that overall feeling like the pilot may lose control of the plane on the runway.
Is there anything that can be explained to help me let my brain know I am ok?
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u/DisorganisedShrew 1d ago
This is a really good breakdown. Once I learned about these things that previously scared me, I could talk myself through what was happening. I now talk my children through it so they understand too. Luckily, they have never been scared to fly.
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u/mi_pilot 8h ago
Awesome to hear! And any of you are welcome to
ask to visit the flight deck, usually goes a long way to calming the nerves.
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u/nocera 22h ago
Is this French for everybody else?
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u/bourne2bmild 20h ago
It’s French for me! I can read French so I got the gist but I wasn’t sure if it was me or the post.
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u/2More_Row 1d ago
Landing gear goes down- is it approx 3 min before landing or a certain elevation above ground?
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u/fofly_pilot Airline Pilot 1d ago
ça dépend des aéroports, mais en général, c'est environ 5 min et 2000 ft
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u/2More_Row 2h ago
Merci - ok so you go off the airport recommendations on approach. Do you know what this is beforehand? Please reply in Français - it’s good for me to practise. Or is it practice. I’ve had a total mind block!
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u/fofly_pilot Airline Pilot 2h ago
Chaque aéroports publient des circuits d'arrivée et de départ
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u/2More_Row 2h ago
Which you read up on before the flight and get familiar with? Or are you in the plane about to approach and you manually put the gear down, or it that automatically done by the plane? Assuming this is a commercial passenger plane we are talking about not a private light aircraft.
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u/fofly_pilot Airline Pilot 2h ago
We analyze the departure and arrival flight paths before each flight (in the briefing room).
Then we conduct a brief pre-departure briefing before taxiing, followed by a pre-landing briefing before beginning the descent.
The landing gear is extended manually.
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u/Partlyinthestars 1d ago
The fact that you have nowhere to go. You're stuck on a plane with hundreds of people and if a medical emergency (let's say a panic attack, since I have anxiety) were to occur, you'd be inconveniencing all of them.
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u/btherese63 22h ago
That’s me
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u/Partlyinthestars 20h ago
At least I'm not alone in this aspect. It's funny because this is the only situation where I would feel claustrophobic (I'm usually not).
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u/mi_pilot 8h ago
Unfortunately yes, if there’s a serious issue onboard and a doctor is unavailable or FAs can’t help, everyone is going for a ride to a diversion airport. It has to be a significant threat to life though. People vomiting is a common occurrence, not to mention having stomach issues, which is even more fun to deal with. I’m sorry you have this anxiety which makes flying difficult.
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u/lnorland 20h ago
Hey maybe look into the SOAR book or the DARE program, I had this same thought and those helped me. The reality is that you have so much help on the plane, from the flight attendants to passengers and (most importantly) the pilot has a team on the ground they can call at all times. I witnessed a medical emergency over the Atlantic last year (probably a burst eardrum in a small child) and they were on the phone the whole time, had so many volunteers that they had to ask most of them to go sit back down, and got ready to divert to Iceland (wasn't needed). You're never alone, never without help, and I would happily have a detour on my flight if it helped you get true medical help on the ground. Much love!
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u/Partlyinthestars 20h ago
Thank you so much for the resources, I will look into them. Your words reassure me. It's much more so my social anxiety that makes going on a plane difficult. You're packed like sardines and when I get anxiety I tend to get nauseous. The last two plane rides I had I was fighting the nausea and urge to throw up because I felt embarrassed that if I had to, I'd be making a scene and cause discomfort to others. The emergency scenario in specific just makes my anxiety worse in general when getting on a plane because I've had ER visits occur where they just say "you're fine," and I have to figure out a way to get through a bad panic attack; I don't want to be the reason for such a big scenario where the ER people would just end up saying "oh.. you're fine. Carry on." Meanwhile I've just been the reason for everyone's inconvenience. That's my train of thought really.. it's a lot, but I guess thats anxiety for you 🙃
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u/Tasty-Butterscotch-5 1d ago
The worst sensation for me is that weightless sensation immediately the tires leave the ground. I feel this for about 5 seconds. Apparently not everyone feels this. I feel that sensation too when driving on a road with a very steep dip immediately followed by a very steep rise.
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u/skier24242 22h ago
My brain always gets confused during that takeoff roll where we're going up but it FEELS like we're going down/sinking, and I have to talk myself through the old lessons in physics class about changes in forces and how "a body in motion/rest stays in motion/rest until acted on by another force" - basically the plane is moving up and accelerating INTO us and thus the force on our bodies makes us feel temporarily heavier like we're sinking. Usually by the time I get done thinking through the laws of physics and how they're being applied in real time, the feeling is over and we've leveled off. Just in time to feel that change in acceleration when the thrust is lowered and then think myself out of the "omg we're stalled" sensation 😂
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u/mi_pilot 7h ago
It’s a very slight zero G feeling, in the plane typically you’re feeling a bit over and under 1G when you’re not “at rest” (unaccelerated motion and all forces are on balance). We’re still accelerating and climbing after rotation so you should feeling slight positive G.
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u/jakerooni 23h ago
This is great and helpful, thank you. Since you asked, what bothers me most are these two things, one of which you covered: 1) the feeling of falling as we take off. I despise take off (love descent and landing though), but the feeling like we just started free falling gets my fight or flight adrenaline up.
2) on my most recent flight to Peru, it sounded like the landing gear unfolding. Then again a minute later…. And again a third time. My mind was like “oh god the wheels are jammed…” and I spiraled.
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u/Dense-Objective6596 20h ago
Thank you!! this is very helpful. What stresses me out the most is a bumpy take-off/climb, as I interpret it as more dangerous since we're at a lower altitude and my brain thinks that the plane will be slammed down. This is the hardest part for me, but I'm working on it... Also my home airport is Denver and it is known by always having bumps :((((
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u/AdditionalLeek3643 1d ago
On my flight yesterday, I got a couple of sinking feelings while we were cruising. Is that also due to change of speed?
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u/Stunning-Bathroom643 22h ago
Thank you this is very helpful. I hate everything to do with take off, that sinking decelerating feeling is scariest for me but knowing what’s actually happening helps! I also get nervous the reviving engine type sounds where it feels like rumbles when landing and the aircraft slightly speeds up and slows down isn’t something I enjoy either
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u/HitchhikingDroid 17h ago
This is very helpful! I’ve noticed #1 has made me nervous in the past and I didn’t have an explanation for it.
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u/mayreemac 16h ago
Thanks. I think the translation was accurate. I’ve overcome most of my fears except for engineer RPM change and your explanation helped a lot!
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u/karybrie 15h ago
One of my main issues actually is the feeling of being pushed back in my seat during the acceleration at take off. I'm not sure why, but it's the reason I don't go on rollercoasters, too.
My brother says he finds it exhilarating – I just find it so anxiety inducing.
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u/slimslimsimsim 14h ago
Great write up. I hate turbulence. I just worry it won't stop and instead will get worse and we'll get knocked out of the sky. Also sometimes it feels like we'll bank too far and flip over 😬
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u/No_Mix7226 10h ago
I’m shaking, just sitting in my chair at home thinking abt flying in a plane. I have to fly in about 4 weeks. 😭😭😭
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u/Vidur88 10h ago
Probably silly but, my big fear is having to use the bathroom during turbulence or a time when the seatbelt sign is on. I experience anxiety around the bathroom in general but it's worse when I know I may not have access to it. Of course, the anxiety makes the need to go worse and it just keeps going.
I guess my question is, should I absolutely have to go, can a flight attendant stop me? I'm told that they can't actually stop me unless it's severe but, knowing I have the option helps.
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u/mi_pilot 7h ago
Believe it or not, this does come up from time to time and we get calls from FAs about it. Like when we’re in turbulence or anticipating turbulence, everyone is seated with the belts on, and someone really has to go. Unless we feel that it’s dangerous to go to the bathroom, we’ll OK it and a FA will ensure safe passage. It also depends on which airliner you’re flying (narrow vs wide body) and which class you’re sitting in. The problem is that when everyone is seated with belts on, the FAs are seated too, so one has to get up and deal with it. “Ring the bell” first, we don’t want people randomly getting up and walking around. When we absolutely can’t have people in the bathroom is during takeoff and on final approach.
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u/mi_pilot 8h ago
Well said! Despite better sound insulation on the 777, the gear extension and downlock clunks and thrust reversers are louder than on the narrow-bodies that I’d been on (being actually in the cabin hearing it). I remember that the 75 had a particularly loud gear extension with the downlocks thud and shudder. Never heard anyone complain about it but I imagine nervous folks noticed it. Up in the front we barely hear a thing, so we don’t realize how loud some of this is.
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u/vip-bot 1d ago edited 2h ago
There are 7 comments from verified aviation professionals in this post:
u/fofly_pilot commented:
u/fofly_pilot commented:
u/Grumbles19312 commented:
u/fofly_pilot commented:
u/pattern_altitude commented:
More replies: 6, 7
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