Welcome to the Week... Sticking with me since 1989

I have been a relatively mid-range fearful flyer my whole life.?This means, I am uncomfortable, but I am not willing to give up traveling, which I love more so I deal with it.?I have little superstitions I do on each flight (which I can’t share) or it will mess with the mojo I am sure!

For the last couple of weeks, we have been looking at the coverage of the Alaska Airlines incident, caused by Boeing 's contractor. I keep thinking to myself this pales in comparison to growing up as a kid of the 80’s and 90’s.

At that time, you would see compared to today a couple of plane crashes every year. Despite the statistics, with 50,000 safe departures and arrivals every day, the lingering fear would be there, rooted in the 1, 2 or 3 crashes you would see splattered on the news that would instill fear in the 80’s and 90’s; especially as a 12 year old kid... No one ever talked about the other 18,000,000 safe flights every year.?

In 1989 in Sioux City, IA a United Airlines flight bound from Denver to Chicago attempted an emergency landing after a hydraulic failure. Upon landing (which the pilot did heroically), the plane’s wing hit the runway, broke apart and burst into flames. 112 passengers died and 184 survived.?

The images and videos as a 12-year-old it stuck with me. It especially stuck with me when two of the victims were from my community.

Rabbi Kenny Berger (42) and his wife Alana (40) from Tampa were both killed, while their daughter?Avi (16) and her 8 year old brother were thrown from the plane and ended up in a cornfield. The kids survived, while both of their parents died that fateful day. Months later, they ended up leaving Tampa and moving in permanently with an Aunt in Pennsylvania.?

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This was clearly something that left an impression, but has my fear of flying been sound?? Meaning, if I check myself, is it right to occupy my mental space when going on a trip?? Is that what I need to fill my head with, or can I embrace the joy of being with who I am traveling with or the privacy of some solitude time to read and relax???

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Since 2010 according to the chart below from the NTSB, there has not been a major deadly airplane incident.?50,000 daily departures. Total deaths… 2, from a couple of freak incidents.

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I am amazed at how when we put our minds to it and let them go, we can manufacture some unfounded stuff.?We form small daily opinions and judgements of people or situations. These can become fears or illicit other emotions, etc, but we really don’t know where those judgements came from.

Maybe we lean toward something with skepticism, but don’t have a better way. Maybe we don’t trust pilots, doctors, politicians (okay, this one is probably justified) scientists, or something we see with our own eyes, but do we think we can fly the plane better? We believe the story in our mind MUST be right and our way and opinion is sound (when most likely it is not based on facts or experience).

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In life we tend to tell ourselves lots of stories, but at the end of the day facts tell the story.??

We can either tell ourselves stories, or listen to the data, experts with training, past success and our execution. This execution is where the opportunity to fix and improve things lies. In our work lives, we can try lots of experiments, see what works and what doesn't. We can be a "scientist" as Adam Grant discusses and leverage the knowledge we gain to continuously improve.

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Each time there was crash the FAA & NTSB went to work fixing the problem so that incident was prevented in the future.?“The hydraulic systems of newer aircraft were fitted with fuses that would seal off the punctured section and prevent a total loss of fluid.” While people may be fearful now that a door plug on a Max 9 is dangerous, I can bet based on the data, that this problem will be mitigated in the future and Boeing will be stepping up every level of their safety given the scrutiny from the public and the FAA.

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So, the next time your mind starts to go in its own direction, stop, take a breath and ask yourself, am I being reasonable? What does the data say? The alternative is to let the “optics” take control of the situation and your mind can make up some crazy stuff.

As you approach this week, when you have all the millions of thoughts that come into your mind and the unreasonable fears and concerns that come into play, ask yourself, what do the facts and the data say? What would the logical "me" say?

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It will change how your mind works and the last I checked, you’ll need a positive, open and levelheaded one to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish.?

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Let’s Takeoff & Go Feed Your Journey!

David

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P.S. I kiss the plane upon boarding and look at the safety information card for 10 seconds each time I sit in a seat. Time to put these to rest and enjoy the ride.