249: Elena's work jet crashed

What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media

True Crime, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For a lot of people, flying is a really scary thing. And that fear can come from a few different factors. You’ve heard stories about planes that have crashed (even though it’s rare). You’re gonna be in this metal tube a few miles above the ground. And you’re putting your life in the hands of people you don’t even know. Part of flight attendant training is learning how to handle a passenger who has anxiety about flying. If someone steps on to the plane and tells them, “Hey, I’m pretty nervous about this”, they have ways to deal with it. They need to keep that passenger comfortable, and everyone on the plane safe. One thing a fearful passenger can do is ask to meet the pilot. This might not always be possible, but in many cases the pilot is happy to meet a nervous flier and provide some reassurance. Then, a few minutes later when the plane is taking off, you can think “this feels a little scary, but I met the person who’s flying the plane, and they seemed to know what they’re doing”. But takeoff is just the first part – you still have to get back to earth. What if the plane is landing, and no one – not even the pilot – knows that anything is wrong... Until you hit the ground. Full show notes for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/249 Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS. Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app Sponsor deals: Visit www.functionhealth.com/WHATWAS or use gift code WHATWAS25 for a $25 credit toward your membership. Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off. If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up. Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For a lot of people, flying is a really scary thing.
0:11.4	That fear can come from a few different factors.
0:15.2	You've heard stories about planes that have crashed, even though it's rare.
0:20.3	You're going to be in this metal tube a few miles above the ground.
0:25.6	And you're putting your life in the hands of people you don't even know.
0:32.6	Part of flight attendant training is learning how to handle a passenger who has anxiety about flying.
0:40.3	If someone steps on the plane and tells them, hey, I'm pretty nervous about this,
0:46.3	they have ways to deal with it. They need to keep that passenger comfortable and everyone on the plane safe.
0:57.0	One thing a fearful passenger can do is ask to meet the pilot.
1:02.0	This might not always be possible, but in many cases the pilot is happy to meet a nervous flyer and provide some reassurance. Then, a few minutes later when the plane is taking off, you can think,
1:15.6	this feels a little scary, but I met the person who's flying the plane,
1:20.6	and they seem to know what they're doing.
1:25.6	But takeoff is just the first part.
1:28.3	You still have to get back to Earth.
1:31.3	What if the plane is landing and no one, not even the pilot, knows that anything is wrong?
1:41.3	Until you hit the ground.
1:49.6	Real people in unreal situations.
1:54.5	The eerie silence when I walked in and he's just staring at me.
1:59.9	I was like, hello, like, are you okay?
2:02.3	And then I had to tell him it was me.
2:06.0	There was just blood everywhere.
2:08.9	They're shouting, they're screaming, they're being hit by bullets, they're hitting the ground.
	...

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