Hey folks, extremely nervous flier here. I understand how much pilots hate this question, and I know a bunch of people are going to jump down my throat about how safe aviation is, but if you could take a minute to reassure me (and then delete the thread if you want), I would really appreciate it.


I've heard that TSA has good pilots. However, I've heard essentially nothing good about the rest of TSA, the CEO, and the future of the company. Poor management, junior manning, corner-cutting...and yes, I read about the $2.5 million fine from the FAA in 2008 for bad maintenance. I also have heard bad things from the maintenance team on sites like Glassdoor or Indeed. (I know the bad reviews are going to come from disgruntled workers with an ax to grind, but still. Some of those reviews were unnerving). With that said, when pilots on this forum make comments like "this is a trash airline" or "everyone is getting out as fast as they can" or "maintenance gets old broken parts" or "those rusty planes in STL are being put back into service" or "UAL is following us around ORD with clipboards watching everything we do"...I gotta say it makes me nervous. So I need to ask, how far do these criticisms go? By "trash airline" do you mean the scheduling just realllly sucks, or something more? Did AA decide not to renew TSA's contract due to safety reasons or something else?


Sorry if I've offended anyone here. I know you're all awesome pilots, but it's the poor management I distrust. I'm aware that TSA has never had a fatal accident, nor has the ERJ-145. And I know 200+ TSA flights go off every day without a hitch. But I fly with you guys on Friday, and I have severe, debilitating anxiety when it comes to flying. If you have any words of reassurance, I would greatly appreciate them.

Worry about driving to and from the airport. That risk is far greater.

Honestly if you’re this concerned why fly with TSA?
Find an airline you’re comfortable with or drive.

Honestly your going to be fine. A lot of factors have to add up to have an accident. Nobody is going to let anything happen to a 20 million dollar jet.

Yes I’m a CA with the company. I’ve seen many things over many years of airline flying. Every pilot out there are completely dedicated to safety of flight

The most dangerous part of my day is the drive to the airport. After that I'm not too worried. I have only come close to dying 3 times while flying. All of them were on the drive to the airport including a rollover crash when a crazy blonde drove me off the road.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. We'll take good care of you.

Crazy blonde eh? Soooooooooooooooo, what were y’all doing?

I heard of an incident recently where they had a blow out of the pressurization packs and the CA was forced to decide on flying over the Rockies on oxygen or turn on one of the deferred packs. They even wanted to put all blame on the CA before they decided better if it since they put him in an impossible situation with their crappy maintenance. Stay far away.

Just do what I do...stay up the entire night before your flight so that all you can manage to do once you get on the plane is fasten your seatbelt before passing out. When you awaken you will be on the ground and will have no idea about any bumps or shakes while in the air, if there were any, and you will not have had to deal with being sick with nervousness throughout the entire flight.

This did happen. Once again, very good pilots keeping a bad situation from getting worse. One thing Trans States does have going for it: outstanding pilots who are used to dealing with critical maintanece items on a daily basis. The maintenance itself borders on criminal.

Buddy, I am freaking out and on the verge of cancelling my flight tomorrow. Should I do it or no?