The second worst U.S. air disaster occurred August 16, 1987. A Northwest airliner, flight 255, was cleared for take-off from Detroit. It was only after seconds into the flight that signs of disaster appeared as the pilot's control column began to shake and a mechanical voice was heard in the cockpit that warned the pilots that disaster was facing them

"Fourteen seconds after takeoff, when it should have been 600 feet in the air, the plane was 45 feet above the ground. Hurtling along at 222 mph, it clipped a light pole in a National Car Rental lot, shearing 18 feet off its left wing. Flames burst from the left engine. The plane struck another pole in the Avis lot. Then, in a 5-degree roll to the left, it scraped the Avis roof and did a half cartwheel, slamming into a concrete embankment. The front 22 feet of the 148 foot plane broke off and skidded down a two-lane road, sliding under a railroad trestle and two spans of the I-94 freeway, scattering fragments of mental and bodies in its wake."¹

The ultimate cause for the crash was determined to be pilot error. It is believed that the "slats and flaps" on the front and rear edges if the wings, which increase the width of the wing to give greater lift during take-off, had not been extended. The jet could not climb quickly without them being extended.

Those who investigated the tragedy also pointed to another factor. The verbal robotic warning which is built into the plane's operation for safety also seemingly failed. When the plane's throttle is fully forward and the slats and flaps are not in extended position another mechanical voice should be heard in the cockpit. However, there was no mechanical or human voice heard on the "black box" recording which indicated that anything was wrong with the slats and flaps!

The error of the pilots, and the apparent failure of the warning system, resulted in 146 passengers, along with six crew members, two Northwest pilots who had hitched a ride, and two motorist dead. Human error and mechanical error are still part of even the most well-trained pilots and the most highly equipped airplanes! When one or both fail, tragedy and disaster are know to reach monumental proportions!

It seems like there are always people who are looking to make money off of such tragedies. In a Time magazine article following this accident, brief attention is given to one such individual.

"ARRESTED. John Irish, 47, who impersonated a Roman Catholic at the scene of the August 1987 crash of Northwest Flight 255 near Detroit; on fraud charges; in Belleville, Ont. Police say that Irish, after consoling grieving relatives of crash victims, steered them to a Florida attorney to handle damage suits against Northwest. The airline claims the impostor defrauded it of $1,100 in hotel and food expenses."²

After such accidents, the question then becomes, "How much is a human life worth?" Liability lawyers, insurance executives, and forensic economists, and juries haggle over that question, as they attempt to assess the value of a life, and determine how to compensate the families of the victims of tragic accidents.

Among the factors that are examined include:

the age and health of each victim

their future earning power

how much each victim suffered before death

were children left behind

were the victims retirees

did the deceased have a life-threatening or terminal disease

should the defendant be punished for an outrageous act, having known of a defective part

The beginning price tag for most victims of an accident is likely to range between $1 million and $2 million. William King, a Lansing forensic economist, who makes his living putting a price tag on people injured or killed in accidents, states

"The value of each victim varies based on a variety of factors and determining the value can get complicated. Factor in children of the deceased, and you'll get over $1 million fairly quickly. If the victims are retirees, you won' t go over $1 million. If the deceased had a life-threatening or terminal disease, that could reduce the settlement if the defense knows about it."³

When looking at the factors that are argued in litigation, one quickly realizes that in the eyes of men, some lives are more important than others. A senior citizen, who leaves no children behind, and is facing a terminal or life-threatening disease, who has been retired, and never earned much in life, isn't worth a lot when it come to settling a case in court.

However, in the eyes of God, every individual is as valuable as another! The Bible says that God is no respecter of persons ( James 2:1-5 ). The Lord is not concerned about one's health, or age, or earning power! Men look on those factors when deciding the worth of a life, but never God. In the eyes of God, all individuals are valuable because they have a soul. Men have so twisted the value of life that too often they place equal and even greater value on an animal, than on a person.

America repeatedly debates assisted suicide and abortion and thereby prove that truth. Animals are protected, but babies are not! How come there are not forensic economists in court speaking about the worth of the healthy babies that are aborted? The worth of an individual who accidentally dies in an airplane crash because of human error and/or failed equipment is argued in a court, but not the worth of a baby who was intentional killed at the hands of an selfish mother. Such individuals as John Irish are disdained for making a profit off of death, but not the mercenary health personnel of an abortion clinic. If money is not motivating, why not demonstrate the compassion that is so earnestly propounded and not charge? The truth is, life is best left in the hands of God, for He alone knows it true worth!

1. Anatomy of a Plane Crash, Life, 04-01-1988, pp. 66 / Cover Story

2. MILESTONES., Time, 11-14-1988, pp 78.

3. Steve Raphael, Putting a price tag on a life lost., Gannett News Service, 01-11-1997, pp S12.