So why do people speed? They are conciously taking a risk that they think they can deal with and don't think too long and hard about the consequences of their failure to deal with it. 90 mph in the outside lane of the motorway seems like a perfectly acceptable risk to take, after all aren't millions of others taking the same risk and getting away with it? Therefore if it's OK for them then why not me? Oh dear I seem to have forgotten that I am trying to steer a 1/2 ton car between two white lines about 7 feet apart at 132 feet per second...hmmmm suddenly the margin for error doesn't seem too large especially if I am less than 30 feet from the car/lorry in front who is kicking up spray 'cos it's just been raining and it's dark.
The point I am trying to make is that risk taking, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder and once one person makes a risk look acceptable then others will follow ( I am not being holier than thou about speeding or trying to preach from the moral high ground, just trying to highlight some facts of life). Where one speeder has gone so will go many others and a certain proportion of them will die or kill others whilst taking their 'acceptable' risk.
Once one person flys under the bridge so will others (the story of the French aero club seems to back that up) - small potatoes in the big scheme of things but what happens next? More illegal low flying, more bridges with smaller clearances to get a bigger buzz - as the word spreads and publicity builds who wants their 15 minutes of fame down the Thames under all the bridges?
I would rather the bloke had flown into the bridge as it would have at least rid the world of another R22 and proved conclusively that the bridge is strong enough to withstand the impact.
Lots of things look cool right up until they go horribly wrong - see New Labour for details!!!