A YouGov study released in January backs this up: One in three Americans believe they could safely land a passenger airplane. Among men, that percentage jumps to 46. And indeed, some average Joes have in fact recently pulled this off.
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In 2013, a 77 year-old man who had never flown before landed a plane. Just last year, air traffic controllers guided a no-experience passenger safely to earth after she radioed them with a distress call. But smaller planes are way easier to fly than jets, and these are the rare success stories.
Knowledgeable people in the aviation industry are well aware that female pilots are, and have been, unquestionably equal in skill levels with their male counterparts. In fact, some studies show that female pilots are generally less risk-taking, and thus arguably safer compared to male pilots.
Fear of flying afflicts as much as 40 percent of the U.S. population. The nation's armrest-grippers may be heartened to know that “aviophobia” is perfectly normal, and easily treated. Only about 5 percent of Americans have aviophobia so severe that they cannot fly.
And—the closest thing we've seen to the number we're after—18 percent of Americans said they had never flown in their life, meaning that 82 percent had.
The amount a private plane will pay to land at an airport can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Fees can also vary depending on whether the airport is publicly or privately owned.