David Koch was involved in a fiery air crash at LAX in 1991



Koch: I suddenly saw a crack of light and I-- God, it was a miracle. Then the crack opened up and I suddenly realized that I had opened the galley door. I said to myself, "What the hell-- jump out!" I landed on the ground and then started crawling on my hands and knees away from the airplane. I had a great sense of guilt--why did I not go back into the airplane and say, "Follow me?" I think if I had gone back in I might have passed out, fallen on the floor, and died. That's how I came to terms with the fact that I got out and didn't help anyone else out.

There were 34 fatalities on the plane Koch was on. Many of the passangers had already removed their seatbelts, and were frantically trying to exit the plane when they succumbed to the toxic smoke.



Now, I wasn't there. I've never been in a plane crash. I can imagine it was a horrific experience. But part of me wondered why he didn't at least try to help the other passangers out. (This I wondered before I even realized who he was.) We hear often of heroes on the scene when terrible disasters happen, and how perfect strangers risk their lives to help others to safety. I wondered why it didn't happen here. (Certainly there were people who were helping others because that's who they are. They don't give it a second thought.)



I don't know. It just left me feeling a little perplexed, the fact that Number One was, of course, first and foremost for Koch, and that the rest would have to take care of themselves. And, sadly, many died trying to.



Wiki link:



YouTube link: (shows the whole program)



Does this speak to the character of the man? Or am I being too critical?



A "hero" is someone who puts his or her own life or safety at risk, in order to help others.

I was watching a program tonight called "Cleared for Disaster." It's a series of programs about air disasters, what caused them, and how in future that can be remedied. So tonight, as I was watching, I noticed someone named "David Koch" (yes, that David Koch) was one of the passengers on USAir Flight 1349, which landed at LAX on Feb. 1, 1991. Turns out that before actually landing, the 1349 collided with small plane that was taking off (on the same runway) but heading toward 1349. The 1349 plowed into the oncoming plane, slammed against a building, then burst into flames. All 12 passengers died immediately. 1349 was engulfed in flames and the passengers were having great difficulty in getting out of the inferno, as some of the exit doors were either inoperable or in flames. Mr. Koch (a "philanthropist," as he's referred to in Wikipedia, among other things) was interviewed for the program and here is part of what he said. He begins speaking at about 10:19 in the video, but the the most important part is at 13:55, below.There were 34 fatalities on the plane Koch was on. Many of the passangers had already removed their seatbelts, and were frantically trying to exit the plane when they succumbed to the toxic smoke.Now, I wasn't there. I've never been in a plane crash. I can imagine it was a horrific experience. But part of me wondered why he didn't at leastto help the other passangers out. (This I wondered before I even realized who he was.) We hear often of heroes on the scene when terrible disasters happen, and how perfect strangers risk their lives to help others to safety. I wondered why it didn't happen here. (Certainly there were people who were helping others because that's who they are. They don't give it a second thought.)I don't know. It just left me feeling a little perplexed, the fact that Number One was, of course, first and foremost for Koch, and that the rest would have to take care of themselves. And, sadly, many died trying to.Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAir_Flight_1493 YouTube link:(shows the whole program) 6 Tweet