| In February 1989 I was saved from an airplane accident on a business trip to New Zealand. On that occasion my companions and I had considered going via Hawaii instead of taking a direct flight because, owing to the connection with our work, we wanted to see Hawaii's livestock industry for ourselves. We sought tickets for the people in our party, but even though there should have been plenty of open seats, for some strange reason we could not get reservations. Three days before our departure we had no choice but to elect a direct flight, and we got reservations right away. After we had finished our business in New Zealand and were waiting in the airport lobby to board our flight home, we noticed that people were grouped in front of the television watching a news report about a jumbo jet from Hawaii to New Zealand that had had an accident. We saw the injured being carried out, and passengers were being interviewed below the leading edge of a wing, where one could see that a cargo door had been wrenched off. Surprisingly, it was the plane that we had at first planned on taking. I felt thankful for Kyososama's protection in keeping us off that plane. |