Originally Posted by
WhyFi
I only have mild anxiety on take-off and landing. That and when weird **** happens. On a flight a year or two ago, the crew had a hard time closing the door, which wasn't that far away from my seat. Throughout the flight, there was a whistling noise coming from it and it got absurdly cold. I was pretty sure that the damn thing was going to blow off at any moment.
Did I ever tell you guys what happened on the way back from HK?
It was a 777. Before takeoff I noticed that the wiring cover on the seat in front of mine wasn't clipped on right and would fall off if my foot nudged it. Then the oxygen mask for the seats behind us fall out while we're still on the ground and the flight attendants have to tape the coverings up. Neither of those is catastrophic, but didn't inspire any confidence in the build quality on that example of the 777.
Then, at about the midpoint of the flight (just south of Alaska), there's a sudden *whumpf* and smell of ozone. Someone calls the flight attendants (not me; I was woozy on Valium) and they bring out a frighteningly-large fire extinguisher. Some time later we learn that a circulation fan in the cargo hold had gotten stuck and was overheating, and they had turned it off before it caught fire. There were enough other fans that it was still safe for pets, but...
Yeah that was the only time I was actually afraid on a fight. I'd be fine in a private plane. I'm not greedy - a used 727-VIP would be fine.