Lucky in two very different ways

So, those couple hundred folks who were on the Air France jet that crashed in Toronto yesterday are very, very lucky. In a pure sense of the word, they defied probability and were in a plane crash. This, I think, can be considered bad luck. On the other hand, according to the press release, twenty-two people were treated for minor injuries, and that's the extent of that. No fatalities, not even a serious injury. Having your plane slide into a ditch next to a major highway and explode into flame, then walking away without a scratch? That is some serious luck.

In my opinion, the media coverage has been excellent. 'Look, a plane crashed! We don't know anything yet but we're going to keep telling you that a plane crashed!' I went ahead yesterday afternoon and turned on the TV, and (to my jaded eyes, at least) it truly sounded like the newscaster was almost hoping for it to be a serious tragedy.

It wasn't, of course., and that's why I'm admiring the coverage. No one died and no one was seriously injured. The head of Air France is praising the flight crew for their actions - the entire plane was evacuated in less than two minutes according to most sources. Some of the passengers simply climbed up onto the highway on the other side of the ravine and hitchhiked back to the airport. There's an investigation already underway, they think it was related to the weather, and it's already off the front pages of news websites. The BBC, for example, is currently leading with gangs roaming Sudan's capital city, a military coup in Mauritania, and the Shuttle repairs going on above us. I say: amen to that (the coverage, not really the events).

Speaking of which, and I just have to ask this: Mauritania has armed forces to take over their government? (I admit it. I just Googled and the CIA estimates that they have just over 370,500 'fit for service' military members, out of a population of 3,086,859. Then I checked and, to my utmost disappointment, they are not a member of the Coalition of the Willing).