(NewsNation) — The fear of flying, officially known as “aviophobia,” is estimated to apply to up to 40% of Americans, and 5% are so aviophobic they cannot fly. But there’s new help for those hoping to conquer their fears.

Incidents like hard landings fuel the anxiety of fearful flyers with cellphone videos often circulating on social media.

Many air travelers have elevated nerves these days, but anxious flyers can now “Dial a Pilot” for $50. The personal conversation with a professional pilot can include a tailored briefing about specific flights and answers to questions or concerns.

“Turbulence, of course, is the number one question that we get. Why turbulence happens, is it dangerous for the airplane, so we end up going down that conversation path quite often,” said founder Kyle Koukol.

A commercial pilot, Koukol launched the service in June, and the team has already fielded hundreds of calls. Their informative content on YouTube and TikTok has also taken off.

The new service has helped one frequent flyer who suddenly developed a fear of flying.

“As we’re taking off, I just have this like, there’s something bad that’s going to happen, we are going to fall out of the air. I don’t know what happened to make this fear happen, but it was very real,” said Melissa Doubrava.

Doubrava turned to Dial a Pilot since she has to fly regularly for medical care.

“Being able to ask what does this sound mean or what does this mean and get an answer from someone, I think that is huge,” she said.

The common thinking about aviation safety is accurate. According to a Harvard study, the odds of dying in a vehicle crash are one in 5,000. On the other hand, the odds of being in a fatal plane crash are one in 11 million.

While those odds are accurate, Koukol steers clear of comparisons, instead focusing on technology and the many advances in aviation.

“What we’re really trying to do with Dial a Pilot is provide that human connection to allow you to understand, okay aviation is a lot safer than driving a car, but why is that?” he explained.

For Doubrava, the service provides comfort as she flies.

“I always tell myself to remember what he was saying is that you’re going to hear different noises, you’re going to hear all of these things, but the biggest thing is that that pilot wants to go home at the end of the night just as much as you do,” she said.

During the flight, she can also rest assured that pilots are not sending secret messages with lights and chimes.

“There’s this rumor going around right now that three chimes means turbulence coming up and there’s another one, a rumor that says when you turn the seatbelt sign off and then on again, the pilots want coffee, which both are just not true,” Koukol said.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a fear of flying often crops up between the ages of 17 and 34, a period of significant change, including events like graduation, marriage or childbirth.

In severe cases, medical therapy may be needed, but for others, just talking it out, perhaps with a pilot, can help.