Thanks for the narrative Piperboy. It is very useful for us all to be reminded about the ease with which things can go wrong - with a first hand, real life example.
I favour the logic model of all the Swiss cheese holes lining up, and the result being that one drops through into an accident. Watching the Swiss cheese, and controlling the holes that you can, with preparation, alertness skill, or finally ATC help is very wise. At least one Swiss cheese hold is always the weather, and you can't control that one! Control as many others as you can.....