subject: Why I Never Wanted To Go In The Cockpit Anyway [print this page] Since 9/11 and the increase in security procedures children are now prevented from going and seeing the plane's cockpit as they have been able to do in the past, especially on transatlantic flights. But I really fail to see the attraction of seeing the cockpit and being worried about the hundreds of controls that could go wrong at any moment, and actually meeting the people who are in charge of keeping the plane in the air.
Going to the cockpit never appealed to me when I was a child. In fact, it was the last thing on my mind. Even on return flights from Miami to Paris with wonderful views when departing from both airports, I would never take the window. I would in fact make sure that I was in the aisle seat, or in the middle row. I didn't want to see the ground, and exactly how high we were getting, and how dangerous it was becoming.
Of course, I eventually got over my fear of flying, but even now when taken very short flights from San Diego to Las Vegas I sometimes get placed in the window seat. When this happens I either ask if someone will trade seats with me or I ask if it's OK to put the thing down that keeps the sun out of your eyes, or keep the cabin darker. For me though, it's a device that I use to not see the peril below. Without watching the land below disappearing below I'm able to deal with my fear.
Which is why I can never go to the cockpit, and why I'm kind of glad that people no longer have access to the cockpit. Looking out of those big windows, with all the lights flashing and all messages coming in, I'd only become scared. So I'll always book flights from Chicago to New York and I'll never hesitate to fly, but I will go into the cockpit.
