someone with a fear of flying , also known as aviophobia or aviatophobia . For five years , Gomez avoided flying altogether . `` I missed out on some really cool things in my life back then because I would n't get on an airplane , '' she said . An estimated 10 percent to 25 percent of the U.S. population experiences the phobia of flying , according to the American Psychological Association . View a timeline of recent notable crashes '' In contrast , the risk of dying in a domestic jet crash has been estimated to be one in 70 million , according to MIT statistician Arnold Barnett , who has performed statistical analyses for the Federal Aviation Administration . Among the causes for aviatophobia is what many will experience as a result of seeing reports about the crash near Buffalo : vicarious trauma . This is trauma that one observes and subsequently develops within based on that observation . `` They see it , and they imagine what would that be like if it happened to me , '' said anxiety disorder psychologist R. Reid Wilson . By focusing on the possibility instead of the actual probability
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When she heard news of the Continental Airlines plane that plunged into a house in suburban Buffalo , New York , on Thursday night , killing 50 people , Jenny Gomez experienced a familiar feeling creep deep within her psyche . `` It definitely sparked those old feelings of anxiety , '' she said . The risk of dying in a jet crash has been estimated to be one in 70 million , according to an MIT analysis . Gomez , 31 and a mother of two , was never afraid to fly during her childhood and early adolescence . `` I had flown all my life since I was very small , getting on a plane to visit my grandparents at least a couple of times a year , and I was fine , '' she remembered . Then , in her late adolescence , the panicky feelings began , slowly at first , but then the anxiety and nervousness started to snowball . `` Every bump , every shake of the plane would set me off . '' Finally , during a college psychology class , she realized she fit the classic criteria for