In flight? Not this girl.

Of course I, along with a lot of other people, have followed the flight of Air France 447. This morning I came across an article about the fear of flying. I read it because I am always--and by always I mean just that--looking for ways to overcome my fear of flying.

The article says, "And news of accidents, such as the presumable crash of Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, have restimulated this fear in a lot of otherwise rational people who know that driving a car is statistically far riskier." And it was there that they lost me. Because anyone who fears flying knows that the statistics have nothing to do with anything. What's my response when people say "Well, you know it's safer to fly than to drive" or "You're safer in the air than in a car" or any other variation of that idea?

Car crashes are survivable.

And it isn't enough to say "thousands of flights happen every day with no incidents whatsoever!", because anyone who fears flying knows that crashes don't need to happen every day. It only needs to happen once. It's enough that it's possible. Tell the 228 passengers of Flight 447 that flying is safe because crashes are rare.

And do I regret the opportunities I've missed--and will miss--because I don't fly? Yes. And I hope that someday I can get on a plane and not envision myself plummeting 30,000 feet to a death that combines drowning, burning, and a crash all in one trifecta of horror. But, let me tell you, crashes like Flight 447 do not make me feel better.