Beating fear of flying through therapy

Jim Reyer, once terrified of flying, would conjure images of a flaming crash and a TV reporter on site intoning: "No survivors."

Reyer understood the basics of aerodynamic flight, trusted the training of the flight crew, knew aviation's safety record, but refused to board a commercial flight. This meant long drives for the family vacation — and eye-rolling from his wife and children.

"I'm a lawyer, a control guy," Reyer, who lives in Boca Raton, Florida, told China Daily. "When aloft, I wasn't in control. I knew what all the noises of the plane were, but I was still a white-knuckled flyer. It was irrational, but the fear of giving up control was real."

Reyer overcame his fear of flying by talking to Tom Bunn, a former commercial airlines pilot who is now a licensed therapist and has been offering courses to overcome fear of flying since 1982.

"Now, I look out the window and have a good time," Reyer said.

Even the recent crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets flown by Indonesia's Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines, in which a total of 346 people were killed, have not rekindled Reyer's fear of flying.

But the crashes have been good for Bunn's business: Requests for help from people who fear flying have doubled.

Bunn, a former US Air Force fighter pilot with 31 years' experience as a commercial pilot for Pan Am and United airlines, said most patients understand that flying is safer than driving, but having their hands on the car's steering wheel gives them a sense of safety because they are in control.

"Twenty-seven is the average age for people beginning to have problems with flying," Bunn, author of Panic Free: The 10-Day Program to End Panic, Anxiety, and Claustrophobia (New World Library, 2019), told China Daily.

"Safety is no longer guaranteed by their parents, and experience has taught them life can end suddenly. Add the complexity of flight, and some people have problems boarding a commercial jet," he said.

Bunn's hours in the cockpit make him uniquely qualified to explain the basics:

On takeoff, the pilot revs the engines to get the plane off the ground.

Shortly after takeoff, but while still climbing, the pilot reduces engine speed because full thrust is no longer needed and many airports operate under noise-reduction rules.

The engines are cut back further when the plane reaches its cruising altitude of about 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). Some passengers confuse the sound of reduced engine speed with engine problems and fear an impending crash.

Regulating anxiety

Bunn said most people develop the ability to regulate anxiety in the first 18 months of life. A child knows a parent will respond to cries, but when that ability is not fully developed, people often compensate with either control, avoidance or physical or psychological escape.

Flying permits neither control nor physical escape. Many who panic when flying therefore try to dissociate themselves from the moment or overmedicate, including downing several drinks before departure.

Bunn, who is based in Easton, Connecticut, teaches patients to prevent the release of stress hormones when flying by thinking about a pleasant image, such as a familiar face or an emotionally satisfying experience.

"Think of a person or place that is emotionally safe," Bunn said. "When that image is vividly recalled, the brain produces an anti-stress hormone. It's mind over matter."

Passengers who do not have a fear of flying have reacted — or not reacted — to the 737 MAX crashes in an unexpected way.

"We thought there would be an uptick in sales of death and dismemberment insurance following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, but there hasn't been," Jonathan Breeze, CEO of insurance broker AardvarkCompare.com, told China Daily. "I think passengers trust the Federal Aviation Administration, and they have a great deal of trust in US airlines because of their strong safety record.

"Most people are concerned about getting sick or being injured abroad and buy coverage for that," he added.

Breeze said his customers show a basic understanding of the risks. The likelihood of dying in a plane crash is about 1 in 11 million, making it more likely that you will be killed by lightning (a 1-in-13,000 chance). The odds of dying in a car crash are about 1 in 5,000, according to research from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Most air mishaps are minor. The US National Transportation Safety Board, based on its review of commercial aircraft accidents, estimates there' is a 95 percent chance of survival.

For many jittery travelers, Bunn's technique works, and knowledge of the statistics allows them to routinely book commercial flights.

"After talking to 'Captain Tom' (Bunn), I now fly regularly," Joe Spatola, owner of a heavy-equipment rental company in Hartford, Connecticut, told China Daily.

"I've read about the crashes involving Boeing MAX jets and when the problem is resolved, I will absolutely fly those planes again."