Subj: Different perspectives on acceptable risk
Date: 5/26/2003

One man's trash is another man's treasure. What does this have to do with perspectives on acceptable risk?

I was watching the Today Show with Matt Lauer. He was interviewing Mario Andretti about his recent mishap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If you didn't see it, his car flipped end-over-end 4 times in midair (at 220 mph) before landing on its wheels and crashing into the wall. The conversation went something like this.
Matt: Why were you out in the car to begin with, especially when you retired from racing several years ago?
Mario: Michael's team was in trouble because of driver injuries and I wanted to help him out.
Matt: But you're 67 years old!
Mario: I have never lost my passion to drive. It was supposed to have been a private test but thirty reporters showed up. They are always critical about everything. They even watch how you get into the car.
Matt: So what went wrong?
Mario: A car had crashed in front of me and there was debris all over the track. I heard a loud bang and the front of the car shot up. It wasn't my fault!
Matt: What was going through your mind during the crash? (Obviously hoping to hear how his life had flashed before his eyes; that he's lucky to be alive; I'll never do that again or some kind of panicky talk.)
Mario: I saw sky; I saw ground; I saw sky; I saw ground and I was wondering if this was going to hurt.

(At this point you could see that Mario was talking about the event from a driver's standpoint where Matt wanted to hear sensationalism)

Matt: What does your wife Dee Ann think of all this?
Mario: Well, because they had a helicopter overhead, I knew they had it on film and I wanted to call Dee Ann before she saw it on the news. To let her know I was OK.
Matt: Well we have Dee Ann on the phone, lets hear what she has to say about this. Dee Ann, what do you think about Mario driving at this age, don't you think he should stop?
Dee Ann: I have never had much say in his driving career, but I wish he would stop.
Matt: So Mario, are you going to hang it up? (talk about putting Mario in the hot seat)
Mario: Well maybe, but I'm going to keep my options open.

The interview went on for a little while, but it was easy to see that Matt thought Mario was doing something crazy and Mario was thinking, "What's the big deal? This is not my first accident. It's all part of the business"

So that's how "One man's trash is another man's treasure" fits in. (Still puzzled?) Two people can look at the same thing, and from their perspective, see something totally different.

I understand where Mario comes from. Being a flight instructor, near death experiences are not uncommon events. Sometimes several occur in the same day. As an instructor, you have to let the student pilot screw up, then let him try to get out of the situation so that he builds confidence in his abilities. The key to survival is not letting him exceed your or the aircraft's limits. A skill that is both learned and innate. If you do not possess this ability or become lax and overconfident, tragic results usually happen. I have been flying military helicopters for over 29 years and have performed flight instructor duties for over 16 and have not (knock on wood) had a training accident or incident. (How many people can say that in their car driving experience?) I have accomplished this due to quality training, a sense of survivability, and appropriate confidence in my abilities. Thus, flight instruction becomes an accepted risk. Yes, it is a hazardous profession by nature, but if done properly, risk can be mitigated. Sure I get the "What ifs," but I put that in the same category of, "What if you get hit by a distracted driver while at your mail box?" I am in more control of my destiny when flying than I am driving the NSX at night (those pesky animals).

A friend tried to set me up for a date without my knowing. She told her friend about me and what I did. "He's a military flight instructor, he works with tigers, and races his car." Her friend said, "Oh, a risk taker." When she told me her comment, I took offense to it. A risk taker? A risk taker is one that tries to do what I do without training, someone who drives drunk, doesn't wear a seat belt, or someone who rides with me in the NSX through a game preserve. It would be risky for me to try and drive as fast as Peter Mills or Dr. John at the race track. They have many hours of training and track experience. I do not. As Dirty
Harry once said, "A man has got to know his limitations!"

I first experienced this, "Oh you're crazy doing that stuff" when I raced motorcycles in high school. Heaven forbid if I showed up at school with a sprained ankle as a result of a collision. I obviously got what I deserved for doing such a reckless, hare brained act. Of course, this was spoken by a person that had a cast on his leg from a skiing accident (very chic).

We all have what we consider acceptable risk. A plane crashes and many people become scared to fly, yet I don't see them giving up driving when they pass a car accident. Driving, although statistically more dangerous than flying, is considered an acceptable risk. "How do you dare fly, Larry," I'm asked. "How do you dare drive," I respond. "What do you mean?" usually is the reply. "You drive home at 60 mph. Six feet or less from your car is another car passing you in the opposite direction at 60 mph. That is a 120 mph closer rate of a near-miss. You don't know if that person is drunk, falling asleep, or is becoming distracted tuning the radio or talking on a cell phone?"

So when someone comments on how risky and fool hardy your actions are, ask them why they are willing to subject themselves to so many catastrophic near misses on their drive home?

Larry G.