(Untitled)

[rdhdsnippet]

So... I fly slightly more than the average leisure traveler - probably six to eight times a year - though obviously less often than the road-warrior business traveler. I seem to be the only one I know who actually factors in how to avoid and (if that fails) survive a crash when doing my planning. I'm actually not in the least bit afraid of being in

Comments

[reedrover]

Yes. I carry my ID in my back pocket for the whole flight. That way, if I do leave my bags behind, I can positively identify myself. And in the worst case, someone can hopefully identify my body quickly.

[rdhdsnippet]

I never thought of this. I usually keep it in my pocket (if I have one) while in the airport and put it away when I get on the plane. It seems very reasonable to alter that. I might tag my carry on bag with my name too, now that I think of it.

[vvalkyri]

that's a really good idea. I do it too, but mostly for ease in getting through security rather than any safety forethought.

@rdhdsnippet, explain more about aisle seats and the back of the plane? the other stuff I do just about as accidentally as the above.

I hate to fly

[musicman]

I keep my passport in my shirt pocket when I fly. If nothing else, I can prove who I am.

I have a rule that if the Captain comes on and introduces himself as Captain Godot, to find some excuse to get off the plane before it takes off.

I try to not fly in large aircraft after the door seals pop open in flight.

In small aircraft, I try to fly with pilots who are on good terms with the Jesus figurine on the dashboard, especially when we skirt thunderstorms over the mountains and have to fly through the valley to avoid the storms.

I tell helicopter pilots to never hover for more than a few seconds -- that is when they traditionally crash, after prolonged hovering.

In short, I try to survive by driving, taking the train, and only when I absolutely have to, do I fly. And then I pray on takeoff and landings -- and I'm not a praying type of guy.

Re: I hate to fly

[free_of_whip]

You do realize that flying is actually safer than driving?

[arashinomoui]

I fly irregularly, once every couple/few years; in college I flew more as my parents were paying for it so they'd see me on shorter breaks.

While I pay some attention to the checks, and figure out where, in the event of a semi-soft landing (HA!) where to escape to, I don't really worry too much about the clothing.

So yeah, you are probably a touch more paranoid than the average joe. Of course, that just means you are more likely to survive if given the opportunity.

[rdhdsnippet]

*LOL* at the no modesty. :)

Shoes: So if I go down in the Andes that my toes don't freeze? (hey, I fly to Rochester and Boston in the winter sometimes - it's not a huge leap!) I don't know. I think it's a survival once you "land" on a mid-air crash thing, versus a takeoff or landing one. I just figure heels are a bad plan in general in an emergency.

I don't worry about dying in a crash. I worry about living through the crash and THEN dying. Which would, you know, suck. Except I'm not actually horribly worried, but why not take little precautions when you can do so without impacting your life too much, right?

[rdhdsnippet]

Well, I figure if I'm stranded I can buy whatever I need. I just don't want to be stranded when I'm hauling a five year old along, or when I'm on my way to a hot weekend with someone I love. Pretty much 100% of my travel involves one or the other of those situations.

We're going to Disney in October. Direct flights. Can you imagine being stranded in an airport with a kid who ISN'T AT DISNEY WORLD YET?!?!?!?!? :)

[rdhdsnippet]

Well yeah, but you're my kind of wrong. ;)

I had a mid-air return to Atlanta on my way to Houston because the radio was non-functional, and the back-up radio was also non-functional, and they have to have one functional one. Presumably we were not *quite* to the midpoint so they returned to Atlanta (all in all they did a great job... we were only like an hour late, which can happen with any flight!). I wasn't overly worried, but I think AirTran may have a PR issue with that pilot some day... "Ladies and gentleman, I've seen radios fail but in my thirty years of flying I've never, ever seen BOTH of them fail..." Mmmmm... way to keep your passengers calm!

[rdhdsnippet]

Heh. Yeah, it does, and I'dve been right with him if he'd asked us to tune our ipods into the airport frequency to help out or something. This wasn't scary at all, it was just "hey, we've got this stupid technical glitch that doesn't matter, but we have to go back, sorry. And really, I've never ever ever ever ever seen this happen!"