Plane crash nightmares

I have nightmares about plane crashes. At least once a month I have a nightmare, often graphic, about a plane crash.

I live a few kilometers north of a Canadian Forces Base, which is home to the Snowbirds. Unfortunately, once in a while, there are Snowbird crashes. Sometimes the pilots life, sometimes they don't.

On April 8, 1954, there was a mid-air collision over the city between a Harvard and a passenger plane. The passenger plane barely missed a school full of hundreds of students. It ended up landing on a house, killing one woman. In the end, this was Canada's worst air disaster, with 37 dead.

While that is a scary story, that's not what gave me nightmares. This is what did:

I went to the Saskatchewan Air Show here in the city on July 10, 2005. Near the end of the show, before the Snowbirds were to perform, the Masters of Disaster took to the skies. Two of the planes crashed, with both pilots dying instantly in front of 20,000 people, one of them being myself.

There haven't been any air shows since the 2005 crash. There have been other plane crashes near the city, one happening two months ago. While I didn't see the actual crash, I saw the wreckage a few hours after the crash.

Every day, planes are flying overhead. While most of the planes do not fly over the city, I still have nightmares. I like to sit outside and watch planes, so I'm not afraid of them (unless they get very close). My uncle is a pilot, I've been inside planes, I've been in the very house where the passenger plane crashed in 1954... yet when night comes, I have nightmares about them.

Does anyone else have this problem and what can I do to stop these bad dreams? It stinks!

I used to live by sfo and saw 2 planes almost hit more then once.
I also had bad dreams that were as bad as yours back then when I lived by sfo.

I'd suggest going to your local small airport and becoming familiar with the people that work there and things that go on. They'd be known as an FBO (Fixed Base Operator) that would sell fuel and other services to pilots that are based there or fly in and out of that airport. You'll find a very passionate group of people that normally will go out of their way to show you around and explain aviation to you in simple terms. That may be what you need to understand more about flying and exactly how safe it is.

They'd possibly even have a flying club, where people take lessons. Here in the US we have a program where young people can get a free flight to see if they are interested in learning how to fly for themselves, and that quite often leads to a breakthrough in how they see the industry.

Originally Posted by neetanddave

I'd suggest going to your local small airport and becoming familiar with the people that work there and things that go on. They'd be known as an FBO (Fixed Base Operator) that would sell fuel and other services to pilots that are based there or fly in and out of that airport. You'll find a very passionate group of people that normally will go out of their way to show you around and explain aviation to you in simple terms. That may be what you need to understand more about flying and exactly how safe it is.

They'd possibly even have a flying club, where people take lessons. Here in the US we have a program where young people can get a free flight to see if they are interested in learning how to fly for themselves, and that quite often leads to a breakthrough in how they see the industry.

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I agree. I worked for 5 years as a flight instructor and the odd time we would get students coming in to take lessons that were terrified of airplanes and flying. Having some sense of understanding and control can make a big difference and it might help you sleep easier

My father died in 1966 in a plane crash. He was a pilot with his own plane. He was a Radio and Television Announcer and was on his way to Chicago. His plane went down near Ypsilanti Mi. His wings iced up and they say he veered away from a school to avoid other fatalities.

I remember getting really sick as a little girl flying in his plane.

I have flown on a helicopter before and it was fun.
We got to see the volcanoes in Hawaii.
I did almost break my ear drum though.
I am not scared of going on planes.
I was scared of them crashing into our yard and house when I was a kid and saw some near misses.

I have a HUGE flying phobia. I have done it 3 times over the last 6 years, but I honestly don't think I can do it again I'm the basket case sitting next to you on the plane crying and hyperventilating, repeating my mantra of "please don't crash, please don't crash, please don't crash".

I don't live near an airport, but I've had plane crash dreams most of my life. There have only been a few times I've dreamt I'm in the plane crash. Most of the time I'm watching them happen. I have no idea what that means, but I am pretty afraid of flying, which sucks because I love to travel.

I don't live very near an airport, but we're still within the flight path of some fairly low flying ones... and tons of military planes. I frequently have nightmares of planes crashing, but mine are all related to a friend I have who is a pilot in the USAF. I worry about him a lot, which is probably why I have the dreams.