Much like everyone else, you fear the worst when you see the email or the story on TV about a plane crash. How bad is it? How many died? The usual assortment of worst case scenarios seems to always pop foremost into one’s mind.

In the case of last Saturday’s Boeing 777 crash at SFO, it is amazing to hear after seeing this plane cartwheel to a stop that, while two passengers did perish and there were a number of serious injuries, almost everyone survived. Sadly, the media are already jumping the gun as the major outlets try to get the leg up on their competition in providing details to the public. Was it pilot error? Was it a maintenance issue with the plane? Was it a terrorist incident? Everyone has to rush to judgment instead of allowing the process to play itself out. Let the NTSB do their damn job! Let the appropriate personnel survey the crash scene, put together the evidence and come to a conclusion. As I frequently say to my kids, it is better to take your time and do a job completely than rush and only partially finish a job.

We are already getting a clearer picture as to the cause of Saturday’s accident. And that is just after a few days. We all must remain patient to find out what the cause of this crash was and then take the necessary steps to address that cause so it does not happen in the future. This is much easier said than done, I know – especially if you had a loved one on that plane. But by allowing the process to run its course, false blame for the cause is eliminated and real safety can be addressed.