I have a few friends who have their own pilots license (private pilot i assume). How safe is it to fly your own plane?

I have acrophobia so learning how to fly is not high on my list but would like to know about how safe it is to assuage some fears. To be it seems scary because if something goes wrong, you wouldn’t be the only person getting hurt (as would be the case for scuba diving or skiing) but you might also risk hurtings others like your plane crashing out of control.

edit: i’m asking on the off chance i feel like one day getting a private pilots license like my friends. i’m not planning on flying with the friends anytime soon; they live on the other side of the world.

  • Troy
    10·
    10 months ago

    Aviation incidents are lower than automotive incidents per person-mile. The standards by which pilots are trained far exceed the standards to which drivers are trained. And the vehicle maintenance standards are infinitely higher. Incidents do happen, and when they do, they become newsworthy (because the news loves a spectacle) and this creates a bias in perception of safety.

    Humans are notoriously bad at assessing risk using gut feeling, so don’t feel bad about feeling bad. But maybe take it as an opportunity to learn about their hobby. If you’re afraid of flying, see if you can join them in a simulator or training cockpit just to hang out and learn. The less magical it becomes, the more confident you’ll become that they’ll be safe.