Perico Durán: "There has never been a plane crash caused by turbulence, it's just a bad time."

BarcelonaHis father and grandfather were pilots, and from a young age, he absorbed a passion for aviation at home. Over the years, his fascination with airplanes became a vocation; he became a pilot, and now, with more than twenty years of experience soaring through the skies, he tries to help people overcome their fear of flying. He does this from his Instagram account where he has thousands of followers and has just published a book –Fly without fear (Planet) – in which he compiles practical advice and the best tricks he's learned for overcoming the anxiety of boarding a plane.

40% of the population experiences some type of anxiety when boarding a plane. What would you say to them?

— People who are afraid of flying usually feel lonely. I would tell them they're not alone, that many people are going through the same thing, and that the fear of flying is a learned fear, and like everything else we've learned, we can unlearn it. It can be overcome.

Actually, there are more flights and fewer accidents. Does this statistic offer any reassurance?

— The statistics couldn't be more striking. Obviously, any accident is always a tragedy, and that's why the media reports on it, but if we look at the figures, we see that they are the exception. In 2023, there were 40 million flights worldwide, and there was only one fatal accident, a propeller plane crash in Nepal. Numbers can sometimes seem cold, but they are also very enlightening. It's true they don't resonate with everyone. Some people understand them, but they don't help them, while others do. That's why I sometimes use them. I like to address fear from all sides, and some people find data very useful. And the truth is, it's reassuring to think that out of 40 million flights in a year, there was only one accident; it's very close to absolute perfection. I don't think there's any other industry like it in the world.

Experts say that turbulence will become increasingly common, and it's one of those moments when people have the worst time on a plane. How do you prepare for this scenario?

— It's important to remember that these predictions are based on very rigorous studies. The planet has been warming for many years, and this warming isn't happening uniformly across the atmosphere. The temperature doesn't rise at the same rate over the poles as it does in the tropics, and this gradient, this difference, is what increases the power of the jet streams, which are the high-altitude winds. And these jet streams are responsible for much of the turbulence. Will there be more instances of turbulence? Yes. But I want to say two reassuring things: first, there will be more turbulence, but we will have greater computing power, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and more powerful computers... which will allow us to better predict and anticipate where these areas of turbulence will occur each day. And second, I want to offer the reassuring message that, however much turbulence there is, it doesn't cause airplane accidents. Turbulence is uncomfortable, but it's not dangerous.

However, situations of widespread fear, even panic, often arise if there is a lot of turbulence.

— Yes, it happened to me very recently, when I was on a shuttle flight between Barcelona and Madrid, and it was during a major storm. We had a lot of turbulence, and it lasted a long time. There were also many planes that day, and it took us longer than usual to land in the middle of the turbulence. People had a terrible time; they were very scared. The problem is that people don't know the limits of what an airplane can handle in turbulence. Many people think the plane might go out of control, that it might crash, that a wing might break off... there are many catastrophic scenarios. That's why I always say that knowledge is a very powerful tool against the fear of flying. If you know that there has never been an accident caused by turbulence, you'll just have a bad time. No one can take that away from you because nobody likes being in severe turbulence. But it's not the same to think you're about to have an accident as it is to think that it's going to be a very unpleasant experience, but that it will be over in ten or fifteen minutes. In these situations, I try to reassure the passengers by talking a lot, explaining very well what is happening, that there is no danger.

Have you ever been scared?

— I'm not afraid because what we do with adverse weather is manage it. In aviation, we operate within limits. Everything is measured. It's not enough for us to be told it's snowing heavily in Madrid today. We need to be told that there are currently 4 millimeters of snow on the runway, and this causes the braking distance to be 4 millimeters instead of 5. Understand? If, with this braking distance, I can't land on this runway that day, I can't land. We input all this data into our devices and spreadsheets and adapt accordingly. Therefore, I'm not afraid because I'm not paid to fulfill the mission of landing; I'm paid to get passengers from point A to point B safely and efficiently.

Have you ever had an emergency while flying?

— Emergencies, no. Obviously, in aviation, every day there are planes that have some kind of mechanical problem, because they are machines. What I have had are medical emergencies. Problems with passengers who have felt unwell, but everything has always turned out alright.

Is it true that some routes are more dangerous than others?

— We don't use the word "danger" in aviation, because if it were dangerous, we wouldn't do it. We talk about threats. For example, a threat could be being very tired. Imagine you woke up very early and you're not 100%. So, what we do is talk about threats: if I didn't sleep well, that's a threat. Or another example: you're flying a route across the Andes. There's a threat here, which is that there will be a lot of turbulence. So, before taking off, this threat is assessed. Or, for example, you're going to China, where it's difficult to understand the air traffic controllers when they speak English. The threat is that when they call out numbers, you can't understand them; you have to pay close attention, you have to ask them to repeat themselves several times if necessary, but that's okay. What we do is manage these threats and adapt to them.

I imagine you'll remember your first flight in a special way.

— More than my first flight, I remember all my first flights, because in a pilot's career there are several. For example, I remember the first time I boarded a small plane to train in the United States. And also my first onlyThat's what we call the first time the instructor gets out of the plane and you fly alone. I had just turned eighteen. Then there's the first time you fly a jet, the first day you fly with an airline, and also the first flight with passengers.

Your job involves spending many days away from home. This takes a heavy toll on you personally and with your family. How are you coping?

— Aviation has wonderful advantages and is a fascinating world, but it also involves sacrifices, like many worthwhile things. One is the irregular and unpredictable schedule. This means giving up certain things and, above all, missing time with family. Eventually, you get used to your birthday being celebrated on a different day, and it's not a big deal. But it's true that you miss certain dates, and it's sad. And then, in terms of health, there are the effects of jet lag, cabin pressure changes... all of this leads to greater physical deterioration than in other people who don't experience these conditions. A long-haul pilot [who flies very long distances] misses between four and eight nights a month, which takes a toll on the body.

Do you notice it?

— I try to take good care of myself, I exercise, and I like to think I'm relatively young, although sometimes I don't think so. I don't really notice it yet. But, for example, on an emotional level, the symptoms of tiredness and lack of sleep are very similar to those of sadness. And depending on what stage of life you're in, the symptoms can be more pronounced.