How dangerous is it to get on a flight in 33 mph plus winds? Please help, I am horrified of flying.?
I am scheduled to fly back to San Diego tomorrow from Baltimore (BWI) with a stop at Midway in Chicago. I am horrified of flying but live across the country from my family and have been home for the holidays. Because of my fear, I made the mistake of closely monitoring the weather conditions. The winds are supposed to reach at least 33 mph in Baltimore, and 20 mph in Chicago. I have the option of paying about 200 bucks more to rush and take a flight tonight (when the winds are at least a little calmer). Any suggestions on my best course of action? Also, any suggestions on calming my fear? I fly back and forth alone a lot but can't seem to shake my fear. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!
Air Travel - 8 Answers
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1 :
not a big deal,any pilot can managed that.
2 :
Chicago is windy a lot. I dont know about baltimore. I often fly out of dulles personally. But the pilots know what they are doing. You will be fine. I would advise you to go to the doctor and get some pills. I recomend Xanex for flying. I can't fly without some type of downer. I hate it too.
3 :
Relax. 33 mph winds are of no concern. The pilots know the limits of the aircraft they fly and would not take a risk. Leave the weather to them as they are required to check it before flying. Happy Holidays and landings!
4 :
I've flown with wind gusts up to 60 mph and the planes have taken off and landed just fine. Next time, I suggest a non-stop flight for you so you won't have so many take offs and landings to deal with. If you have turbulence, think of it as being on a rollercoaster ride. You're not going to die on a rollercoaster and it's fun. Try to think positive. Take some deep breaths. Listen to some soothing music. Here's a link to how safe flying is: http://boeing.com/commercial/safety/pf/pf_howsafe.html Good luck and hope you have a good trip! Flying can be fun!
5 :
Not particularly dangerous at all, in a large commercial aircraft. Similar to boats, the large crafts are less affected by winds than small crafts. Additionally, the winds you are talking about are surface winds and only affect take-off, and the only affect there is the possibility of a slight delay to get a runway without cross-winds. After take-off, the aircraft will be above the surface winds and then if you have headwinds, you may arrival a few minutes late, and if tailwinds, a few minutes early. Either way, for your pilot it is an everyday occurrence. You are actually safer in an aircraft than you are on the ground.
6 :
Stay on your original flight....the pilots have families and holiday plans too. They won't take off if they don't believe it's safe for them. Stop monitoring the wind conditions, go out and have a good dinner tonight. Try not to get too much sleep....then maybe you'll be too tired on the plane to get too anxious.
7 :
Getting on is not dangerous at all. It's taking off and especially landing where wind is, or can be, an issue. But wind is not necessarily bad. A steady wind, in fact, is good if you can take off or land directly into it. Landing or taking off directly across a stiff wind is not good, but that's why airports have runways on different headings. Gusts are more of an issue, and especially highly unstable weather conditions where wind direction keeps changing. But here's a thought: The airline really dislikes crashes because they're bad for business and screw up the operations schedule something awful. The air traffic controlers and weather forecasters dislike crashes, too. And most especially the pilots take a rather personal dislike to crashes. Most of them have been flying for a long time, like it, and want to keep flying for a long time. They know far better than you or I about aircraft and weather. Your plane is not taking off unless at least five or six knowledgable people ALL think it's reasonably safe.
8 :
Winds like that are routine. There is no reason to be concerned. Additionally, they are predicted to be steady and roughly aligned with the runways, which simply means that take-off will be faster and easier. The mere presence of wind is not a problem for aircraft.
