It Could Have Been Much Worse

All passengers were evacuated (Mercury News photo)

Little solace to the families of the two dead and the dozens critically injured, but the crash of an Asiana 777 at SFO could have been much, much worse.

Two grim firsts:

It was the first fatality involving a passenger aircraft at SFO since 1953 (1964 if one counts cargo airplanes).

It was the first passenger fatality recorded for the Boeing 777, which was introduced in 1995.

The triple-7 was regarded as a huge risk for Boeing because cutting-edge technology was used in its design, manufacture, and operations: the revolutionary giant twin engines (not a "derivative" of previous models), the exclusive reliance on computer-aided design, the fly-by-wire instead of mechanical controls, and the use of composite materials in its construction. The airplane has proved to be a spectacular commercial success and had a stellar safety record...until today. Here's hoping that the NTSB investigation does not reveal serious problems with the aircraft. © 2013 Stephen Yuen