Fear of Landing Turns Twenty
It’s a curious thing to realize you’ve been doing something for decades without ever quite intending to. Last month, I realised that I created Fear of Landing exactly twenty years ago.
The original hook was a crazy dream: fly into every British island with a strip. The kind of plan usually reserved for people who don’t have to pay for their own petrol. It took me weeks just to compile the list: thirty-eight islands that vaguely qualified as “British.” I managed six.
The reality of the cost and the sheer time-consuming nature of the project finally set in, especially considering I was starting from Spain. I’m still annoyed that I didn’t get Gibraltar, which would have been my first, but at the time they wouldn’t accept direct flights from Spain except in emergencies.
The following year, I was invited to write a monthly article for Piper Flyer. As a part of this, I discovered the wonders of having a deadline. I started updating Fear of Landing every Friday. By 2008, Fear of Landing was becoming something different: less about me, more an information resource.
I think I’ve found my first real accident analysis. I wrote about the death of a 16-year-old student pilot which really shocked me (and has still stuck with me): Southend Inquest Declares Student Death Accidental. By 2009, I was actively documenting aviation events as my primary content. That year, I had my first viral article: I posted photos of a plane eaten by a bear and repaired with duct tape. I discovered that people love a disaster they can fix with their bare hands. FAA Approved? remained in my top-ten posts for the next decade.
It’s been very hectic lately and I couldn’t find the time to properly mark the milestone, so it was a pleasant surprise when Janine Canillas reached out to do a feature on Fear of Landing. She writes for AOPA (the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) which is a massive, US-based organisation which advocates for general aviation pilots.
What was supposed to be a standard professional exchange quickly spiraled into a marathon chat. We spoke for two hours, which is a very long time to justify one’s life choices to a stranger. But it wasn’t just about Fear of Landing. We talked about flying lessons and writing and favourite planes and moose.
I sent her my favourite photograph of me with the Piper Saratoga. I found the Saratoga a fast and complicated aircraft at first, and at one point I outright accused it of trying to kill me. But you can tell that we’d made friends by the time that photo was taken by the way my hand is resting on it possessively. I went back and reread the break-up letter I wrote to it when we sold the Saratoga. All I’ll say is that I never loved another plane the way I loved that one.
Anyway! Enough reminiscing. Go read Janine’s article: Lessons Before the Accident. It’s a version of Fear of Landing that almost makes sense.
Intriguingly, the beginnings of Accidents and Incidents is also clearly documented here, though I like to think I’m better at titles, now: Why You Should Follow Me on Twitter
Fear of Landing has been compelling reading for me for almost all of that time. The candid accounts of your personal flying experiences resonated with me, a student pilot at the time. Later your incisive analysis of events that went badly wrong was always instructive and interesting.
Despite personal tragedies you’ve persevered, creating a community of readers around the world. Thank you. I and many others are looking forward to the next two decades of compelling stories. By the way, best blog title ever.
Thank you! Another two decades? Eeep, what did I sign up for! :D
Congratulations Sylvia, on the 20th Anniversary of Fear of Landing!! I enjoy it immensely and read every one. (I’m in Ontario Canada)
Good to see you are still here! But also, sad to be writing at Air Canada tomorrow. :(
Congratulations! You deserve the accolades!
It’s not just your perspective and choice of topics, it’s also your skill as a writer that makes Fear of Landing a pleasure to look forward to every week.
Thank you! It is very nice to feel appreciated.
Congratulations! As a non-flying (well, except as a passenger in commercial planes) member of your audience, your articles are always fascinating
I was thinking about you last week, as one of the few that reads most of my writing! That you take the time to comment and let me know is always super appreciated!
Congratulations on 20 years! As a relative
newcomer to Fear of Landing, I greatly look forward
to the weekly update.
Thank you! I’m glad you found your way here. I probably should work harder at letting people know about my little corner of the internet but it’s also nice as it is :D
Many congratulations Sylvia!
Speaking of people here since the beginning! Nice to see you are still here!
Congratulations on reaching 20; there are very few self-publications that last this long, let alone stay this interesting. Looking forward to another 20….
And thank you for the background; I started following less than a decade ago IIRC, so I’d never seen the duct-tape airplane. As a sometime theater geek I’m not surprised this was tried (I was once given a book of patterns for strange things to make from duct tape, starting with a wallet and getting to IIRC a raincoat), but it’s nice to see something work in practice.
Thank you! And yeah, that taped up plane sure was something. A wallet sounds almost useful, less sure about the raincoat though !
Congrats on twenty! I don’t remember when I started reading Fear of Landing, but I’ve always found it interesting and informative and entertaining and thought provoking. And I don’t even own a pilot’s license. :)
FWIW, when I do software engineering workshops, I will use articles from Fear of Landing as “interesting” real world examples, more exciting than reminding people to double check their pointer references. Aviation incidents are so closely scrutinized because the stakes are so high — but the psychology of mistakes and failures extends far beyond aviation, and Fear of Landing makes it relatable in a way that I can share it with my colleagues who can’t tell the difference between a turboprop and a turbojet — but are much more likely to remember the lesson because it’s wrapped in an interesting wrapper. Kudos and thanks.
That’s so great to hear! I sometimes worry that because I am not the type for YouTube or Tiktok, maybe fewer and fewer people will bother to use the site as a resource. So I’m really glad if your colleagues find it interesting enough to read about aviation as a complex system rather than just out of love for planes.
Congratulations Sylvia, I always enjoy reading your articles and books.
Here’s to another 20 years!
Oh wow, so good to see you are still here too. And yeah, lets do another 20.