A LEVEL-HEADED pilot has shared his tips for flight fears – amid a plane filled with screaming passengers and enduring shocking turbulence.
Jimmy Nicholson was flying from Barcelona to Menorca on his four week-long honeymoon with wife Holly on Sunday when their flight experienced a bout of “horrible” turbulence.
The 33-year-old has been a pilot for ten years however, and whilst Holly, 29, and fellow passengers were left petrified, he delivered his own thoughts and techniques on how to ease flying anxieties.
The video begins with an on-screen caption that reads: “Horrible turbulence. Pilot sitting at the back of a plane.”
The video shows the plane rocking from side-to-side with the sound of passengers screaming in fear as it made its way across the Spanish airspace.
The camera then flips around to Jimmy from Sydney, Australia, who says: “Some of the worst turbulence that I’ve ever felt, so it’s a short flight, it’s not comfortable.”
The on-screen text then reads: “What do you do? 1. Remind yourself – it’s completely normal. The plane isn’t going to fall out of the sky.”
The camera then pans to his new wife, who is attempting to compose herself as she reaches for the sick bag.
The on-screen text then reads: “2. Water bottle trick: the water isn’t moving much is it?”
Jimmy holds a bottle of Buxton water upside down to demonstrate that the water is only moving slightly despite the heavy feeling of turbulence.
Jimmy then reaches up towards the aircon panel and the on-screen text reads “3. Fresh air, look outside the window (we didn’t have one).”
Unfortunately, as the pair were sat at the very rear of the plane there was no window to demonstrate the final piece of advice as the camera pans to Holly gripping Jimmy’s hand for dear life.
Jimmy then continues saying: “So, we are at the back of the plane, so it’s worse here, it’s not comfortable, it’s probably some of the worst I’ve been in.”
The camera turns to Holly sarcastically saying: “Some? Some of the worst?”
He goes on to explain: “It could be widespread storms, so they just have to pick their path of least resistance and go through it, also nothing to worry about planes are built to withstand way worse.
“Not fun, evidently but completely fine. Some of the worst turbulence I’ve ever felt.
“This is one that deserves a clap.”
The camera then shows the rest of the plane loudly applauding and whooping as the plane successfully lands with the on-screen text reading: “Pilots earned their money today.”
Jimmy uploaded the video to TikTok on Monday with the caption: “Horrible turbulence on our flight today. I’m a pilot and actually fly this aircraft type (airbus).
“Here’s why you have nothing to worry about.”
The clip has since received over 600,000 likes and more than 3,400 comments from users quick to chip in with their thoughts.
One user joked: “Why did I think the pilot of THAT plane was sitting in the back just accepting his fate.”
Another commented: “Love how people automatically blame turbulence on airline – ‘It’s a cheap airline so no wonder’, it’s so hilarious to me.”
A third wrote: “I need an emotional support pilot next to me when I fly.”
Another replied: “I’m not scared of the turbulence I’m scared of the people around me vomiting.”
A fifth user said: “It’s not turbulence that scares me, it’s pilot error, or some kind of severe mechanical failure.”
Speaking today Jimmy said: “I do videos on TikTok and Instagram from time-to-time to help people in dealing with their fear of flying which seems to be a pretty common thing.
“We departed from Barcelona to Mallorca, it’s a 55-minute flight and we hit some pretty bad turbulence, it was pretty rough for the whole way so the seatbelt signs stayed on for the whole time.
“Obviously, I wasn’t up the front so I couldn’t see what was going on with the radar and everything but I had a look at the weather on the ground afterwards and it looked like there were some squall lines coming through.
“These are areas of widespread thunderstorm activity and my guess is that the pilot picked their way through the path of least resistance but we still got knocked around a fair bit.
“It certainly wasn’t all that fun but I just thought that I’d show the video to show people that there is nothing to worry about.
“I included a couple of tricks that I use, like putting a water bottle in front of you on the tray table and seeing how little the water is actually moving because your eyes and your ears can play tricks on you.
“Another is to look for a visual reference outside – we didn’t have a window next to us so it was a little bit difficult – and also to turn the air gaspers on to get some fresh air.”
