Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Plane Game

A flight by an unhappy pilot into an Austin building will no doubt lead to calls for more rules for airplanes and pilots.
Speaking (writing) as a pilot, we have enough rules. The incident in Austin is tragic. And the events in the pilot's life which apparently led to it, are tragic too. He felt the federal government, especially the IRS, was targeting him. Maybe he is right. Maybe there are rules for the rich, and then for the rest of us. But trying to destroy one building and take some innocent lives with you is not the way to convey the message.
The IRS will still have its pages and pages of regulations. And people who might agree that government is too big, taxes too high and there is no way to get "their" attention, will be tarred with what this one individual did.
And pilots and airplanes may be victims too. There is always an out cry immediately after an event which gets so much attention. But, if the pilot had driven a car with a bomb into the building and caused similar damage, would there be a demand for stricter controls on drivers and cars?

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