7 Tips to Keep Your Fear of Flying in Check After a Scary News Headline

Hearing about a plane crash or other aviation incidents can be incredibly unsettling—especially if you already have a fear of flying. Your brain might immediately start to spiral, saying: “See? I shouldn’t fly. It could happen.”

And you know what? You’re not wrong—bad things can happen. But guess what? You don’t stop living your life because of what ifs. You still drive after hearing about car accidents, right? You still eat out even though food poisoning exists. The key is learning how to challenge the thoughts that are trying to keep you stuck.

Let’s break down how to handle this fear without letting it derail your progress.

1. Recognize and Challenge Your Thinking

If you find yourself thinking, “This is why I shouldn’t fly,” it’s a sign you need to do some work around your thought patterns. Anxiety thrives on confirmation bias—where your brain selectively focuses on evidence that supports your fear and ignores all the times things go right.

Instead of letting one scary event reinforce your fear, use it as an opportunity to strengthen your skills in handling uncertainty. Just because something happened doesn’t mean it will happen to you.

Ask yourself:

• Am I looking at this objectively, or is my fear making the decision for me?

• What other areas of life have I continued with, even after hearing about risks?

• How can I use this fear as motivation to learn coping strategies?

2. Educate Yourself on Flight Safety (Within Reason)

If you constantly struggle with trusting the safety of flying, a reasonable amount of education can help. But here’s the key—reasonable means getting information from trusted sources, not falling down an internet rabbit hole.

Learn the facts about aviation safety and how planes are designed to withstand various conditions. Understanding how thoroughly pilots are trained and how rare incidents are can provide reassurance. But remember, knowledge is a tool—not a crutch. Overconsumption of information can fuel anxiety rather than calm it.

3. Respond to Anxiety Differently

When anxious thoughts pop up, instead of taking them so seriously, try responding to them with acceptance of uncertainty and even a little humor. Some ways to do this:

• “Maybe, maybe not” or “If it’s my time, it’s my time.” 

• “Good one, Anxiety! I knew you’d throw this thought at me today.”

By not taking these thoughts so seriously, you take away their power. Anxiety loves when you engage and fight with it—so don’t. Acknowledge it, and then move on.

4. Accept Your Feelings (Without Letting Them Take Over)

It’s okay to feel sad, scared, or even angry when you hear tragic news about a plane crash. Just because you know your fear of flying is irrational doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen in the world. Allow yourself to feel those emotions without judgment.

Say to yourself:

• “I feel scared right now, and that’s okay.”

• “This news is upsetting, but I don’t have to dwell on it.”

Feeling your emotions doesn’t mean you have to act on them. You can experience fear and still take steps to move forward.

5. Don't Feed the Fear (Keep Scrolling!)

When you see something in the news about a plane crash, it’s tempting to dig deep—searching for answers, reading every article, and trying to figure out how to avoid the same fate. But here’s the truth:

• The media's job is to provoke emotion and fear, not provide reassurance.

• Digging for answers won’t eliminate anxiety… it will only fuel more of it.

• Engaging with these stories trains the internet algorithms to show you more flight-related incidents, which only further reinforce your fear.

Instead, practice the art of scrolling past. Think of all the scary headlines you see every day that you don’t click on. Do the same with flight-related ones.

6. Avoid Creating New Rules

After a plane incident, it might feel tempting to make new “rules” for yourself to feel safer—avoiding certain airlines, flying only on specific types of planes, or picking certain seats. While this might help you get on a plane in the short term, it’s ultimately reinforcing the belief that you have control over something that you don’t.

Instead of white-knuckling it through with safety rules, focus on strategies that actually help you to accept and allow your anxious feelings. 

Final Thoughts

It's completely understandable to feel anxious when hearing about plane related incidents, but don’t let fear steer your decisions. Instead, use this moment as an opportunity to challenge your anxious thoughts, stay informed in a healthy way, and continue moving toward your goal of confident travel.

You can handle this, and you don’t have to do it alone.

Need More Support?

Whether you’re looking for one-on-one support or self-paced learning, we’ve got options to help you overcome flight anxiety. If you’re in Minnesota, Iowa, or South Dakota, our individual therapy sessions provide personalized guidance. For those outside these states, our online courses offer the same proven strategies we teach our clients—so you can start building confidence, no matter where you are.

Click here to schedule a 15 minute phone consultation with one of our therapists.

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