Damon shares how he overcame his biggest fear

The thing is, the fear of flying may be a distinct phobia in itself, or it may be an indirect combination of one or more other disorders, so it may be claustrophobia (fear of being in a confined space) or acrophobia (fear of being at a certain height).

My fear was so bad, I couldn't even go to an airport and the worst thing is that I was just too embarrassed to tell anyone.

See: Scary skeleton ghost seen flying over houses

I'd literally make up an excuse anytime someone mentioned the word 'flight' and when I eventually had no option but to fly, I found myself sitting on the plane shaking uncontrollably.

I just couldn't do it.

I'd board the plane with the intention of flying and then run off just as the doors were about to close, causing havoc and leaving a wake of terrified and confused passengers behind me...

Then I'd drive six hours to Johannesburg looking up at the sky, looking for any clouds or threat of bad weather, to convince myself that I'd made the right decision.

I'd had enough.

I drove to the closest air-school and signed up to do my pilot's license.

So if you have a fear of flying, let me try and put it to you like this...

There are between 15 million and 18 million airline flights in the world annually, which makes it about 40,000 to 50,000 flights a day, carrying nearly a million passengers per day. Statistically, you would have to fly every day for nearly 200 years for there to be a significant chance you would experience an accident. 

It's the car ride to the airport you should be fearful of, not the flight.

You have a 1 in 6 chance of being in a major car accident within your lifetime and you have a greater chance of winning the lottery or being struck by lightning than you have of being in an airline accident.

I now do motivational talks on overcoming your fears and have also just teamed up with two airline pilots and a clinical psychologist to bring nervous passengers my Flying Without Fear course.

See you on board a flight soon.