Aviphobia – The fear of flying.  Most people know that, statistically speaking, you’re much more likely to be hurt or killed driving your car to work than you are in an airplane or helicopter.  But not everyone is comforted by statistics.

Some psychologists have theorized that one of the things people find most uncomfortable about flying isn’t the enclosed space or the height, but the fact that they aren’t in control of the vehicle, and they don’t have a personal relationship with the people who are.

Those of us who choose careers in flying probably didn’t have to overcome aviphobia to begin with.  Certainly that’s the case for everyone at Desert View Aerial Photography.  Additionally, flying many times per week for years and rarely having an issue also makes you forget that you’re thousands of feet in the air in a high tech piece of aluminum.

Which is why we were very surprised recently when shortly after taking off for a helicopter shoot, the engine started sputtering and we began quickly losing altitude.  In fact, we were losing altitude so fast we didn’t even think we’d be able to make it a mile to the Sky Harbor runway.  Which is probably for the best, since we probably would still be there filling out paperwork related to the incident.

So where did we land?  We didn’t really have a lot of options, but a good pilot always has a “plan B”, and ultimately decided to land at the Army National Guard base near Papago Park.  We weren’t sure what to expect, but when you land at a military base without an invitation, we wouldn’t have been totally surprised if it involved guns being pointed in our direction.

Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.  The soldiers on the base greeted us warmly, if a little cautiously, and treated us very well once they heard our story.  With their help, we were able to trouble shoot the problem, fix it, and get back to the airport we took off from.

What was the problem? It turned out to be a faulty plug that caused the engine to misfire.

After that experience, you can bet we are a little more grateful for every flight that is uneventful, other than taking great pictures for our clients.

If you need aerial photos from a team that can handle any situation, call Desert View Aerial Photography at 480.396.2409.