From the author: Published on the website of psychologist V.A. Matveev Aerophobia “From ancient times, people dreamed of flying like birds. But more than one thousand years passed before this dream came true. In the history of aeronautics, along with outstanding achievements and high-profile victories, there are many sad pages. A person’s desire to take to the air has always been associated with enormous risk.” This is a quote from the website www.aeroaccidents.ru, dedicated to the 100 largest aircraft accidents. There have been, are and will be catastrophes. In the general range of man-made and natural disasters, aviation occupies a very modest place. Much more common road transport takes many more lives as a result of accidents. You can’t argue with dry statistics. However, the mind says one thing, and feelings say something completely different. “One death is a tragedy, a million deaths are statistics...” I.V. Stalin. The paradox is that every plane crash becomes a tragedy, and the more people die in it, the more tangible this tragedy is. They don’t want to turn into plane crash statistics. This especially applies to the field of passenger transportation. You can understand when equipment testers or military pilots die. Humanity has paid and will continue to pay in full for technological progress and risk. But when ordinary passengers die, you get the feeling that you, like any modern person, are essentially a hostage to progress. Why does this feeling occur? A plane crash is comparable in its pathological effect to a terrorist attack, since it has common features: suddenness, lack of motivation, uncontrollability and mass action. Plus to this the predetermined location of the action (airplane), the commonality of fate and death. Hence the complex effect of fear on the consciousness of the passenger, greatly amplified by the neighbors in the cabin. Aerophobia can be either a separate phobia or evidence of other phobias, for example, claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces) or acrophobia (fear of heights), or thanatophobia (fear of death, and in this case, fear of dying in a plane crash). And all this accompanies most air passengers, from the moment they purchase tickets until they get off the plane after landing. Sometimes flying and even waiting for a flight turns into a serious problem. Fear, stress, “premonition”, obsessive thoughts. The cramped cabin of the plane, the noise of the engines, pressure changes, air pockets, the feeling of an “abyss under your feet” - all this does not contribute to the enjoyment of the flight. But it is possible to get pleasure from flying! How can you make flying a pleasure? How to stop being afraid of the “big iron birds”? How can you admire the beautiful views while flying? After all, fear and anxiety for your life cannot be cured! This means that aerophobia, as an extreme manifestation of these feelings, is incurable in principle! There is only one reliable way to get rid of aerophobia - to know absolutely for sure that the flight will go safely! Absolute confidence! How, where, from whom can you get this knowledge? Most rely on their “intuition” or “fate”. “He who is destined to be hanged will not drown!” and similar blah blah blah... Just a cheap sedative (effective when combined with a fair amount of alcohol before and during the flight!). You might think that some of these people are really developing their intuition or practicing methods that allow them to know and change their destiny. In essence, the “leaving it to chance” attitude is simply an irresponsible attitude towards life. Which, in fact, is not uncommon for most. Yes, this article is not for them. Information, of course, for Individuals who care about their own lives. “Advanced” people go for such knowledge to psychics, fortune tellers, astrologers, clairvoyants... The problem is that these predictors are complete strangers to you. And for your money, they will give you any information that suits you. You will not be able to verify this information, and their mistake could cost you your life! As in that joke: “Well, if the parachute doesn’t open, come! Let's exchange!" How to be? Who can you trust?.