Plane crashes are tragedies, and while nobody ever wants them to occur, they can be beneficial. Accidents like this have a lot to teach.
Popular Mechanics explains many plane crashes serve as educational events that lead to safer air travel. There are some accidents over the years that have been quite beneficial to advancing plane safety, which means the victims of these crashes helped to save lives in the future, which can offer at least some comfort in the situation.
TWA Flight 2 and United Airline Flight 718
The collision of these two planes in 1956 helped to upgrade air traffic control. It also led to collision avoidance equipment on planes. What experts learned from this accident was how to prevent it from ever happening again through better air control processes and equipment.
United Airlines Flight 173
This 1978 accident stemmed from issues where the plane was unable to land. Due to horrible leadership in the cockpit, ten people died when the plane crashed in a suburban area. After this accident, teamwork in the cockpit became an important part of the duties of the flight crew. From this point on, all members underwent better training and the captain no longer maintained singular control over the staff.
Air Canada Flight 797
This 1983 incident involved a fire in the bathroom that nobody knew about due to a lack of warning. The buildup of smoke made it difficult for the pilot to control the plane. Before evacuation, the fire exploded and caused the death of half the people on board. Because of this incident, all airplane bathrooms have smoke detectors and include automatic fire extinguishing systems.
These are just a few examples. Every mishap or tragic airplane accident has something to teach. Using them as tools to better the whole aviation industry means that something good can come from something tragic.