something strange is going on, page-13

I have often mused over the "law of probability" that an event causing death is either an accident or in some way pre-ordained.

Consider these events:

The DHL cargo plane than hit the side of a Russian plane side-on at some 35,000' over Europe.
The Russian plane was travelling at some 500mph, so the window of opportunity for the DHL to hit it side on would have been milliseconds. Not only that, but at the exact same altitude and same time???


On the western Victorian coastline one morning a commercial fisherman had unloaded his catch into the trailer behind his tractor and towed it to the top of the cliff to unload. He unhooks the trailer, slips, and the trailer rolls backwards over the cliff and falls to the beach below.
At that exact time a couple were having their morning stroll and walking side-by-side on the beach. The trailer hits (only) the husband and he was killed instantly - the wife did not have a scratch.


A couple of years ago (while visiting my mother) is regional S.A. At about 1:30am on a little travelled road car (a) is heading south and half way through a sweeping bend. Car (b) heading north, ignores the bend and drives straight into the side of car (a) - 3 people in car (a) killed.
Again, what is the ultimate odds of (a) two cars being on that same road in the same location at the time of night and (b) the "window of opportunity" of car (b) to hit car (a) travelling at about 100kmph side-on?