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Published on April 17, 2008

British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a snow-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes", along with a number of supporters and journalists; 23 of the 44 passengers on board died in the disaster.

Seven of Manchester United's players died immediately, and others died later from injuries. Still others could never play again.

Manchester United only won one league game after the crash, causing their title challenge to collapse and leaving them in ninth place in the league.

If this tragedy serves as anything, it is a reminder to all enterprises about how dangerous it is to put all your eggs in one basket.

An accident on this scale could destabilise any institution in any field, particularly business enterprises, which need executive decisions on major issues.

Several organisations now make it a policy that when executives are scheduled to go somewhere for a conference, secretaries must not book air tickets on a single flight or even a single airline.

Heard at a dinner recently were the flight plans for top executives at a Thai unit of a Japanese auto company. The three Japanese executives were to go to Tokyo during Songkran, and they were booked for different flights on three different airlines.

The auto company said it was a precaution against any possible mishap, which could disrupt its operations in Thailand.

Prompting the company to adopt the policy was a plane crash in Japan.

On the flight were a large number of car dealers from the US. Casualties from the crash left the US operations in disarray.

Certainly, an accident such as this is extremely unwanted,

especially during the Songkran

festival, when families travel in a single car to provincial destinations. Many end the festival in tears.

Accidents are unpredictable, but the damage can be contained. Indeed, everyone can lend a hand in this regard to minimise injuries and casualties.

Achara Deboonme

achara_d@nationgroup.com