Why plane crashes cause anxiety – and how you can cope

In brief

• Plane crashes are extremely rare, but media coverage can make them feel common
• Our brains are wired to overestimate risks, especially those with catastrophic impacts
• If you’re afraid of flying, news stories about crashing can reinforce fears, strengthening avoidance behaviours
• By understanding why plane crashes affect us, we can find ways to reduce the anxiety and restore calmness and confidence

Why plane crashes affect us emotionally

Plane crashes stick in our minds, making us think that they’re more likely to happen than airline safety stats show. Psychologists call this the availability heuristic. Plane crashes stay in our brains and we come to overestimate how often they occur – and our risk of being in one. 

Extensive coverage of plane crashes can make them feel much more common than they are. The reason that plane crashes receive so much attention and intensity is because they are so rare. 

Plane crashes are rare events, which is why they hit the headlines so hard. When they happen, it’s almost impossible to avoid news stories which can create powerful emotional responses. If you’re a nervous flyer, these events can be distressing, embedding your fear of flying.

What happens is a gap is created between perception and probability. You perceive lying as dangerous because you’ve seen the wreckage of a crash on TV, but that doesn’t increase the probability of you being involved in one.

We know that emotions can often overcome the rational part of our brains, so we won’t explain how commercial aviation is incredibly safe. What we can do is help you to understand what happens in your brain when you see an image of a plane crash – and how you can close the gap between your perception or risk and the real risk you face. 

Understanding the role of catastrophic thinking in flight anxiety

Catastrophic thinking (often called catastrophising) is described by psychologists Tom Zaubler in the AMA as “(a) cognitive distortion that occurs when people have a hard time weighing the likelihood of certain outcomes and believe that terrible or catastrophic outcomes – which are highly unlikely – become, in one’s mind, salient and extremely likely.”

It’s a beautiful description of a common phenomena. For those of us who are afraid of flying, when we see a plane crash, it reinforces our belief that commercial air travel is unsafe. 

Media coverage of a plane crash leads us to imagine what could happen. We may experience intrusive thoughts, like:

• What if this happens on my flight?
• What if the aircraft develops a fault mid-air?
• What if the crew can’t fix the problem?
• Will my plane be hit by a bird strike?

You might find these thoughts strange but they’re actually normal and a part of the anxiety response.

Our brains are designed to help protect us from danger. When it comes to triggers like flying, we can’t weigh up the risks of something happening.

Each time we see images of a plane crash, our brains believe that this isn’t an incredibly unlikely potential outcome, but a probable one. 

The world is full of people who feel the same way. What we need to do is find ways to recognise that the fear we experience is irrational. That begins with ignoring (as much as possible) the reporting on air crashes.

Why media coverage reinforces fear of flying

Media coverage of plane crashes is rarely calm and compassionate. Instead, it’s often about finding new ways to shock with headlines, articles ,images and videos that do everything to amplify your fears.

When a plane crashes, it’s big news. If you’re already sensitive to flying, media stories can strengthen this fear. It’s a process called conditioning. We begin to overestimate risk which can increase anxiety, as this paper clearly demonstrates.

Consistent coverage of air accidents (or severe turbulence events, windy landings or any other trigger) can add to the mental load and contribute to an ongoing fear of flying.

Many fearful flyers feel guilty, but that’s unfair. Our brains learn through repetition and emotional experience. What we need to do is to break the association.

Some simple coping strategies to reduce stress 

Avoidance is always best, but we know that’s almost impossible in our connected world. If news about a plane crash has increased your anxiety about a forthcoming flight, try some of these techniques to restore some calm and take back control:

• Reframe negative throughs: Instead of focusing on the plane crash and imagine what it must have felt like, combat that with positive thoughts of flight experiences. Visualise the feel of safely landing. Research aviation stats and build up a logical and rational response.
• Engage anxious thoughts and accept them: Learn to accept intrusive thoughts as part of anxiety, acknowledge them and move on. Many people with anxiety attempt to ignore or suppress anxious thoughts, but paradoxically, this can lead to an increase in their frequency and intensity. Psychologists call this the ironic process.
• Don’t stop flying: it’s well understood that avoidance behaviours tend to strengthen fear over time. (It’s called a maladaptive response.) Continuing to fly (even if the experience feels uncomfortable) allows your brain to learn that the feared outcome does not occur.
• Control what you can: when you fly you have to accept you’ll give up control – and that’s about acceptance. But you’re not powerless. You can prepare for your flight, learn breathing exercises, mindfulness tools and grounding strategies. (And download our Calm Flight Toolkit!)

If your fear gets too much and you really can’t cope with flying then it’s worth seeking professional help. Things like CBT are proven to help and can give you the tools, techniques and skills to fly with confidence.

Putting plane crashes into perspective

Plane crashes are tragic events and they can stir the emotions of everyone. The impact of these stories and the way that they’re reported can distort our perception of risk, making us feel that flying is dangerous (even when the stats show us otherwise). 

By understanding how the brain works, how it processes information and assesses risks can help you to spot patterns in thinking and break them. You can also find ways to break free of negative through patterns, accepting anxiety which can reduce their power.

In the end, you may never fly free from fear – but it can become a part of the experience, not one that defines it. You can learn more about aviation safety in our Fear of Flying pages and find practical coping strategies in the Help Desk. 

Please share this article with anyone who might benefit from it.

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