DAVE ROSS

Dangerous machines

Jul 8, 2013, 5:35 AM | Updated: 9:33 am

This image released by the National Transportation Safety Board, Sunday, July 7, 2013, shows the interior of the Boeing 777 Asiana Airlines Flight 214 aircraft. The Asiana flight crashed upon landing Saturday, July 6, at San Francisco International Airport, and two of the 307 passengers aboard were killed. (AP Photo/NTSB)

(AP Photo/NTSB)

I wouldn’t say I’m a nervous flyer. I would say I’m an attentive flyer. I look at my watch during takeoff – I like to be off the ground no more than 30 seconds after we start rolling.

As we land, I watch the flaps extend, I listen for the clunk of the landing gear, I try to get a look at the runway as we bank into final approach, and I’m grateful that those white stripes on the tarmac always seem to show up at just the right time.

I wonder what I’d do if something went wrong like what happened in San Francisco.

It’s reassuring that so many people survived. It’s reassuring that the people in the exit rows didn’t just jump, but stayed behind to help others.

But the bottom line for me is that this is another reminder of the trust we place in our machines and the people who run them.

The other big accident over the weekend – that oil train in Quebec that was left unattended, and started coasting and then jumped the tracks and exploded, obliterating that small town – there’s a case where the victims were just spending an evening out, feeling completely safe in a place where trains had passed by thousands of times without a problem, except this one time.

We focus on these mishaps because they’re spectacular, and we wonder was it carelessness, lack of training, some kind of impairment? And yet, isn’t it ironic that we very likely heard about these incidents while sitting in a car, which, because of so many careless, impaired, and poorly trained operators, is still the most dangerous machine of them all.

Listen to the latest on the Boeing 777 crash at SFO

Read more:
Asiana says it was pilot’s first landing of a Boeing 777 at SFO
Photos: Boeing 777 crashes at San Francisco airport
Officials probe why crashed SF jet flew too slow

Sign up for breaking news alerts from MyNorthwest.com

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

3 days ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

10 days ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

1 month ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

1 month ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

1 month ago

Super Bowl celebration...

Dave Ross

Ross: The NFL does it again

The NFL once again put on a show that was able to keep me tuned in for four hours even though I had no stake in either team.

2 months ago

Dangerous machines