Just No Cure For Pure Stupidity

When that US Airways plane crashed in the Hudson River two weeks ago, a stewardess told passengers not to open any rear exits but to rather leave the plane using the wing and front exits. A panicked passenger opened the door anyway, allowing the plane to fill with water. It won't happen here but in a just world one of the other passengers would sue him (or her) for terminal stupidity.

An interesting point about the pilot. After the passengers evacuated, he twice went through the plane to make sure no one was left behind. But it wasn't until he got official word that everyone on the manifest was safe did he finally feel as if th is huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. Interesting. Mark Twain talked about this sense of obligation to the passengers in his book about river piloting (Life on the Mississippi). He said even when the ship was burning and boilers exploding, the pilot would hold the ship against the bank so the passengers could disembark. They would risk their lives to save the passengers.