Book Description
Readers join desperate pilots in the cockpit as they
fight gravity and time in a plane that's falling out of the
sky.
Anyone who watches the news knows about the "black
box." Officially called the cockpit voice recorder, the
black box (which is actually Day-glo orange) records the
final moments of any in-flight accident. Often it provides
the only explanation of a crash -- inevitably, it provides a
heart-breaking, second-by-second account of intense fear
tempered by unyielding professionalism. The 1984 Quill title
has been completely updated to include twenty-eight new
incidents occurring between 1978 and 1996. Some are famous,
like the 1996 Valujet crash in the Everglades and the
ill-fated launch of the space shuttle Challenger; other
disasters range from commuter prop aircraft to jumbo
airliners and a pair of Air Force planes. Few have ever been
revealed in their entirety, each, without exception, is
absolutely gripping.
In this new edition, editor Malcolm MacPherson has,
wherever possible, added weather notes and descriptions of
events in the cockpit and cabin, heightening our vivid sense
of being there during the final moments. Provided by the
National Transportation Safety Board and vetted by an
experienced airline captain, these are unforgettable case
studies in ultimate emergency -- authentic, immediate, filled
with drama, terror, human frailty and error, and unquenchable
courage.
