I Was a Hesitant Flyer Until….

Over the 4^th of July weekend I made a quick trip to Phoenix to see relatives.

Have you ever flown somewhere and during that time there has been an airline mishap? We flew in on the evening of 4^th of July. We had a nice, hot time in the 110 plus temperatures in the Valley of the Sun. Our scheduled return was for Sunday afternoon on Allegiant Airlines.

In between our arrival and our departure there was the horrific airplane accident in San Francisco with the Boeing 777 where the plane’s tail clipped the sea wall on landing and caught fire injuring more than 180 people. Before the accident on Saturday, it had four and half years since the last air tragedy in the United States.

I have to be honest. I am not the world’s best flyer anyway. And adding the accident to the equation, raised my anxiety of flying home Sunday to another level. But I boarded the plane. I read my magazines. I paid my $2 for a diet soda. And we landed back in Billings safe and sound.

We used the shuttle service from the Crowne Plaza back to the radio station to pick up our car. We were joined in the shuttle by two pilots from Delta who had just landed their plane. As they were sitting down, I overheard them talking about the crash the day before.

I decided to interject a question that I have always wanted to ask a pilot – “Are you nervous when you fly after an air accident?”  The pilot’s answer was short and very honest.

“No, never.”

He went on to tell me that with the number of planes that take flight every day around the world versus the accidents, air travel is the safest way to travel. There was something about his confidence that gave me confidence. So much in fact that I am looking forward to my flight to New Orleans in August.

I only wish he could be the pilot of the plane.