The average person would have to fly every day for 29,000 years before getting involved in a fatal airline crash. But, of course, if you're afraid to fly, the numbers offer no comfort at all. And they're very visually imaginative. They can put a picture in their mind of an airplane disaster in a heartbeat. Media coverage of air disasters doesn't help.
Counselors say while airline wrecks are rare, they dominate newspapers and evening news broadcasts.
It's a very emotionally wrenching experience if you have empathy. Andrew said his fear of flying got so serious his wife finally went on the Internet and found out about the SOAR program. He ordered the tapes last year and has high praise for the experience. The beauty of this thing is that you're taking a course with someone who is a pilot. That in and of itself goes a much longer way than speaking to a psychologist.