Customer Reviews

Air Disaster (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read all three Air Disaster books, and in my opinion, this is the best one. With all of these books, the authors only include crashes that were caused by true accidents or "mistakes" made by people in the air industry; they do not include disasters based on terrorism or deliberate sabotage attempts.

In my opinion, the most tragic accidents are the ones outlined in chapters 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17 and 18. In chapter 8, you witness how a DC9 ran out of fuel and was forced to ditch into the sea - despite having the required fuel to the destination, enough fuel to get to the alternate airport, as well as 30 minutes holding fuel, plus an extra 10%. Extraordinary!

Chapter 12 tells of a flight crew that were so preoccupied with one of the three landing lights not lighting up (for the undercarriage) that none of them noticed that they had bumped the control-column and inadvertantly disengaged the autopilot. The plane crashed, killing over half on board, although afterwards it was discovered that the fimalment of the offending light bulb had simply burnt out and the landing gear was indeed in the down and locked position.

One of the most Catastrophic disasters, was when everyone aboard the Turkish Airline 767 lost their life because a cargo door fell off. In a rare description of the aftermath, another pilot reported on the scene, "There were fragments of bodies and pieces of flesh everywhere that were hardly recognisable. Not far from where I stood were two hands clasping each other, a man's hand tightly holding a woman's hand, two hands that withstood disintegration..."

Finally, the last chapter tells the horrific yet mesmerising story behind the events of the worlds biggest Air Disaster at Tenerife in 1977 involving two 747's (PanAm. and KLM). Ironically, this occurred while both aircraft were still on the ground. I won't go into the details, because it is just waaay to complex (ultimately it was caused by perhaps ten or so "incidents" - and if the outcome had have been different for any one of them, the whole thing would have been averted). Let's just say that the series of events that lead to the tragedy is just astonishing. In reality, it is always a string of highly improbable events that leads to a catastrophe of this magnitude. Ultimately, the death toll rose to 583 - to this day it remains the worst accidental disaster involving one or more aircraft.

Unlikely as it may seem, this book has made me realise how safe air travel is - what I mean is that now I can at least understand how the accidents happened, and therefore how unlikely they are to occur.

I found this book very easy to read. Each accident was covered with great detail. The use of drawings to show the accident as it occured left little to the imagination. The written accounts were very accurate. I compared one accident covered in the book with the actual NTSB report and found them to be almost identical. The only difference is this book is easier to read than the NTSB report. If you are interested in aviation accidents, this book (and volume 2) is for you. It's about as close as you want to come to being in an Air Disaster!!!

The entire series is a fairly easy read, and introduces the inexperienced to some of the identified causes of well-known - or in the case of this volume, some not-so-well-known - accidents.

These books give a wonderfully even-handed, unbiased review of accidents, using all the evidence available. The stories are then woven with narrative, with actual dialogue where available, that really brings to life how things go wrong and how professional most airline staff are.

If you find what the NTSB does fascinating, are interested in aerospace, mechanical or structural engineering, these books are required reading. But they're also great for the rest of us, who just want to know more about what goes wrong sometimes.

Being a flight simulator enthusiast I bought this book to improve my knowledge of jet airliners, after establishing from internet reviews that Mr Job's books on the subject of air disasters are considered to be brilliant. I was not disappointed, and have already ordered Volume 2.

I have always loved acquiring knowledge through case histories - in other words, not just reading the sometimes dry textbooks which provide general principles, but also studying specific cases that illustrate those principles graphically and dramatically, and in the wider context of real, fallible people experiencing those principles in a practical way.

Volume 1 covers the period from 1952 to 1977, the last case being the greatest air disaster in history (not counting the 9/11 tragedy) when two jumbo jets collided at Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people.

Both the author and the illustrator are commercial pilots themselves, adding to the firm grasp they have on the subject and the insights they bring. However the text is never dull like some of the official disaster investigation reports on which Mr Job has drawn as sources. Being an excellent writer he is aware of the inherent drama and uses it to full effect without ever becoming sensationalist or disrespectful toward those who have lost their lives.

Nor is he vindictive or judgmental toward pilots who have shown errors in judgment. The author's approach is summarised in the introduction: "In identifying the pilots and other crew members unfortunate enough to be caught up in the outworking of these unhappy but immensely valuable learning experiences, the book seeks only to be authentic in `telling it as it was'. Indeed, in preparing the material for publication, the author and the illustrator were continually reminded that `there but for the grace of God go I'."

It is also good to see that Mr Job does not merely echo the findings of the boards of investigation, but critically evaluates those findings, as in the case of the disastrous landing of a Boeing 727 at the small Caribbean island airport of St Thomas in 1976.

The selection of accidents has been chosen carefully to highlight particular aspects of modern jet flying and its potential hazards. These are not just stupid accidents - in many cases one can understand why the crew acted the way they did and sympathise with them even though, with the easy wisdom of hindsight, they acted incorrectly. Consider, for instance, the case of the captain of the BEA Hawker Siddeley Trident who may have suffered a heart attack while ascending from London's Heathrow airport in 1972. The plane crashed soon after takeoff, killing the crew and its 112 passengers. The captain's illness probably set off a series of events resulting in the crew failing to control the plane. Like so many accidents this one, too, resulted from a combination of unfortunate factors rather than a single event.

Any criticisms? Not really. On occasion the technical detail is slightly overwhelming. Initially I was disappointed to find that the numerous and excellent illustrations and photographs are black and white, obviously to keep the price down, but I soon got used to it and the lack of colour does not really impact on one's understanding.

Would I recommend it to someone suffering from fear of flying? I'm not so sure. The 18 case histories described in the book make it clear that the airline industry in general has succeeded in achieving passenger transport safety standards unequalled in transport history. On the other hand, the subject is by its very nature rather grim. This is the dark side of flying, and I had to remind myself continually that the risk of air accidents, though always present and ready to confront the unwary pilot, is only a minute part of the immensely varied world of flying and should not be allowed to become a morbid obsessional fear.

Macarther Job introduces us to a format of explaining and understanding air distasters par excellence.

If you are looking for gratuitous pictures you will be dissapointed. This is a book for those who wish to understand the reasons behind these incidents and the results of.

Job takes us to the start of jet travel and the De Havilland Comet disasters of the 1950s when the UK nearly had the world's jet travel for the taking. Pilot error is also included as human factors in this then new tecnology also played it's part.

This would be in evidence when the greatest disaster of all is covered by Job, the KLM/Pan Am disaster in Teneriff.

The Douglas DC10 makes it's appearance and through Job explains that it is not the aircraft's fault for it's failings but man's failing to understand the technology that has been provided at the time. We all learn from our mistakes and sometimes the lessons needed over-awe us in their consequences.

What an excellent book this is. For that matter, all of the Air Disaster volumes by Macarthur Job are first-rate. It's hard to imagine cramming any more detail into each chapter than is provided here! And the illustrations are top drawer as well. Some of these drawings are actually quite eerie, giving the reader a look at what the accident must have actually looked like. These sketches, like the text, are very detailed as well. If you are fascinated with plane crashes and "what really happened", you must purchase this (and all subsequent) volumes.

Volume 1 of this series of books includes 18 riveting true-life tales of disaster aboard a wide variety of commercial aircraft -- from the series of BOAC "Comet" crashes in 1954, to a Swissair "Caravelle" in September 1963, to a Capitol Airways DC-8 in November 1970, to a BEA "Trident" in June 1972, to a Turkish McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in March 1974, and lots more.

My two favorite chapters from this volume are .............

>> Chapter #12 -- The crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in Miami, Florida, on the night of December 29, 1972. That's the famous accident which had a Lockheed L-1011 plunging into the Everglades because a cheap landing-gear light failed to illuminate, causing the crew of the TriStar much grief and, ultimately, caused the aircraft to crash into the pitch-black Everglades near Miami International Airport. This is also the fatal crash that spawned the book and movie, "The Ghost Of Flight 401".

>> Chapter #18 -- Chronicling in fascinatingly-microscopic detail the single worst disaster in commercial aviation history (to date), claiming 583 lives: the March 27, 1977, accident in Tenerife (Canary Islands), when two Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets collided on the ground in heavy fog. The many photos, graphs, and charts (along with the practically minute-by-minute text account) do a nice job of placing the reader RIGHT THERE in Tenerife before, during, and after the accident. A chapter worth multiple re-reads.

A "Did You Know?" aviation trivia fact ........................

Did You Know .... that the Pan Am Boeing 747 involved in the horrific crash at Tenerife in 1977 was the same identical airplane that had the distinction of being the very first Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet to operate a flight in commercial service? The aircraft, registered as "N736PA", was the 11th B747 ever built, first taking to the skies on its first test flight on Christmas Eve 1969. Less than one month later, the big jet was placed into revenue service with Pan American Airways, becoming the first 747 to transport paying passengers when it flew from New York to London on January 22, 1970. Seven years later it met its fate when a fellow 747 of KLM collided with her on a foggy runway in the Canary Islands.


The later "Air Disaster" editions, like this first one, are literally jam-packed with unbelievably-detailed info on many major airliner crashes. These "Air Disaster" volumes earn a "Highest Recommendation" moniker, in this writer's humble opinion.

There are many ways to test a new invention or a modification but sometimes things are missed or not even thought of until something fails. In the case of airplanes, a failure often times results in loss of life. Air Disaster Volume 1 follows the lessons learned from various jet airplane crashes. The stories aren't overly technical but their presentation in the form of an oversized book and three column layout with a tiny font makes for difficult reading. I also found the presentation of the stories rather dry and in the process noticed a number of typographical errors.

The best and most informative part of Air Disaster is how it is illustrated. Each chapter has many charts, diagrams and photographs from the crash being discussed. There are at least three volumes in this this series but I'm not inspired enough to read further.

The entire series of aircraft analysis books by Macarthur Job is the most complete and riveting account of aircraft accidents you will find anywhere. He takes you inside the cockpit and inside the minds of the pilots during some of the most harrowing circumstances imaginable. Once you start reading the books in this series, there is simply no way to put them down. If you're planning on purchasing volume 1, then go right ahead and purchase the remaining 3 volumes. They are that good. Really! Through detailed analysis of what is taking place in the cockpit, the reader feels as though he or she is actually on the flight deck, immersed in a real life or death situation. Unfortunately, the majority of incidences end in disaster, with no lives saved. This series is perfect for the professional pilot, those casually interested in aviation, or those who enjoy a good detective story. When all is said and done, Macarthur Job writes and illustrates each disaster in such incredible detail, that even the best fiction or non-fiction detective crime writers are left well behind. These are real stories about real people and real events. Nothing could surpass the suspense the reader will feel while reading these amazing books. While several of the real life stories involve mechanical problems with the aircraft, a good number involve errors made by the flight crew. Many of the flight crew errors start out as minor, insignificant incidents that snowball into terrifying scenarios that soon spiral out of control. Even pilots with tens of thousands of hours of flying time, including flight training instructors are not immune to the domino effect that can take place when a seemingly simple situation quickly turns into a Mayday doomsday scenario. These books are of great educational value to pilots, as they display in real time how important the communication is between all members of the flight crew. If all members don't work together as one complete unit, and something should go wrong, it is imperative that all members of the flight crew quickly get on the same wavelength, otherwise disaster is a real possibility. Of course, the flight crew should be working as a team at the get-go, not when disaster looms. The series includes a story of an aircraft flight crew, fatigued by being held on the ground for an extended period of time, failing to go through their pre-flight checklist. The unlucky flight-crew, failed to lower the flaps and adjust the slats for takeoff, the warning system failed, the flight attained only 37 feet of altitude, crashed and killed all those on board. This accident was due to a miscommunication between the pilot and copilot, both highly experienced, but both making a fatal mistake that should never have occurred. The added consequence of a malfunctioning warning system, sealed the fate of the crew and passengers. My only regret about the series is that it seems as though Mr. Job has retired from writing any more books in this series, but if by chance he does, I'll be the first to purchase a copy on Amazon.com.

It's hard to imagine that training manuals for crew members or crash investigators could be much more thorough. This book is must-reading for any serious student of airline safety. The illustrations are numerous and extremely detailed. The photographs give the reader an appropriate sense of the scale of each disaster. As someone else mentioned here, a few photos may be distressing to the unprepared, but are never distasteful.

The final chapter, covering the Tenerife 747 collision in 1977, is by far the most detailed coverage I've seen of history's worst air diaster. Job covers all the bases, ultimately attributing the disaster to a combination of independent incidents (terrorist bomb, fog, communications, etc.) and not soley to KLM captain Van Zanten's impatience to get underway. Very intelligent, even-handed coverage of each incident.

I recommend purchasing the entire series. I am not a pilot, engineer or mechanic, but I've learned an great deal about the design and operation of commercial airliners from these books.

Scaring book. Job is an expert. no doubt. He writes technically, respecting the victims, not trying to take advantage of the tragedies for his own profit. It's not a book to be read back-to-back (there are 18 well developed chapters, full of graphics, photos and diagrams and technical language). It's a must for any pilot, engineer or air security officer working in this field.