Given the nature of public transport I think we can discount the "out of my control" factor. We can even remove the human element; driverless trains are found in quite a few places and nobody is screaming in terror on them.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_driverless_trains

So what is it about flying? Probably the whole "trapped in a metal tube travelling at 500mph a mile above the ocean" thing.