The Stranger Across the Aisle – I

Reflections after watching a documentary on the crash of United Airlines 232.

Years ago I watched a television program about a plane crash in the Midwest. I can’t remember the exact circumstances, but it involved a commercial airliner. An engine exploded shortly after takeoff. The plane was on fire, billowing smoke, falling out of the sky.

They played black-box snippets of the crew’s conversation with the control tower, and the c…