Boston College Law Review Volume 28 Article 2 Issue 5 Number 5 9-1-1987 When Circumstances Provide a Guarantee of Genuineness: Permitting Recovery for Pre-Impact Emotional Distress Kathleen M. Turezyn Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr Part of the Torts Commons Recommended Citation Kathleen M. Turezyn, When Circumstances Provide a Guarantee of Genuineness: Permitting Recovery for Pre-Impact Emotional Distress, 28 B.C.L. Rev. 881 (1987), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol28/iss5/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES PROVIDE A GUARANTEE OF GENUINENESS: PERMITTING RECOVERY FOR PRE-IMPACT EMOTIONAL DISTRESSt Kathleen M. Turezyn* I. INTRODUCTION "Uh-Oh"' That fateful phrase was uttered by pilot Michael J. Smith at almost the same instant that the space shuttle "Challenger" exploded before the eyes of the unsuspecting NASA ground control crew, the families and friends of the astronauts invited to watch the launch, and television viewers who had just witnessed another apparently successful space launch. It was the last communication by a member of the crew, 2 and suggests that at least one of the astronauts was aware of an impending disaster.' Evidence produced by an investigation of the explosion appears to support the conclusion that the crew survived the explosion in space only to find themselves trapped in the crew module as it fell toward earth and its ultimate destination deep in the Atlantic Ocean.