Customer Reviews

Air Disaster (Vol. 2)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you really liked the first Air Disaster book, then get this one, because it is fascinating stuff.

In my opinion, the most tragic accidents are the ones outlined in chapters 2 to 7 and 9 & 10. For me, the most interesting read was concerning an American Airlines DC10; just after takeoff at Chicago O'Hare airport - the left engine ripped off by itself and separated from the wing, tumbling out of control down the runway. As you can imagine, the subsequent scene as the aircraft careened out of control were horrific.
It was eventually found that this incident was caused by Continental's air maintenance crews, who removed the engines and mounts as one piece instead of the way that McDonnell Douglas had specified them to be removed separately, and consequently the engine mounts were damaged. So there you go: human error after all!

Yet another unique crash involved a collision between a 727 and a Cessna. How could two planes collide you wonder? Only one way to find out...
And also included is the infamous Air New Zealand DC-10 that crashed into Mt Erebus during a scenic flight over Antarctica.

This edition includes two photos (one is especially spine-chilling) of planes that are within [split]seconds of crashing. One can only imagine how the crew and passengers felt at that time.

This book also made me aware of one very ubiquitous misconception: people think that if you're flying on a 747 at 37,000 feet and all four engines fail, you'll hit the ground like a dart. This simply isn't true. A 747 with no engines takes roughly 23 minutes with a 3-degree glide slope to reach the ground from this altitude! Moreover, it can resume level flight on only one engine! Incredible.

If there's something else that this series has taught me, it's that an accident is most likely to occur immediately after takeoff, or sometime within half an hour of takeoff.

It's perhaps not the done thing for the artist to comment on his work, masquerading as a "review", but I'm pleased to note the other reviewers' comments about the effort which Mac Job and I put into this series.
Enormous effort by us both was invested in these books ~ on Mac's part to bring the dry bones of the official investigation reports (and other sources) to life in an intelligently readable manner; on mine, to flesh these out with a visual context designed to enrich his text and, almost, tell a 'parallel story'.
The many explanatory graphics, maps and diagrams were, in almost all cases, redrawn ~ or re-crafted from scratch ~ to bring a clear and dramatic visual emphasis to the stories.
The Erebus chapter (a particular personal passion of mine) was an exhaustive collaborative effort between us, the goal being to draw the divergent background official investigations into an appropriately balanced whole.
It was a singular honour to be able to secure the contribution of former Air New Zealand Captain Gordon Vette to write the Foreword to this volume.
Captain Vette's own investigations into the disaster contributed in no small part to the ensuing Mahon Royal Commission, and I can highly commend his own published work "Impact Erebus" as well.
Matthew Tesch

This volume lives up to the standards of the previous volume, and I highly recommend it. The text and illustrations are clear and tell you exactly what happened to these air liners (as far as it can be determined from the available evidence, of course). Explicit in each description is information on what was learned from the accident, and what was done to make sure it doesn't happen again.

I am actually old enough to remember some of these accidents. The Aloha 243 I remember seeing on the evening news and I remeber reading about the Sioux City accident in the papers. Now I have the rest of the story.

For cons, I really feel that a visual dictionary should be included. There is a glossary, but like in the first volume, it doesn't describe what things like pitch, roll or yaw are, which I think would really help me understand more of what the air craft went through in flight. Also, a picture describing salient features on the body of the aircraft would aid understanding of the descriptions as well.

We have all been asked, at one point or another, what book we would bring to a deserted tropical island if marooned there for life. While I will not go so far as to suggest Air Disaster vol 2 should be that book, I will say it is one of the finest books on the subject I have ever read, and I have read many. Its fourteen chapters include the Japan airlines crash of 1985, the Air Lauda disaster in 91, and the 1978 mid-air collision over San Diego. The book is an excellent one for three reasons.

First of all, Job gives the reader superb explanations for how these accidents happened. His writing can be understood by everyone from the aviation expert to the land lubber who has never flown. He shows how each crash resulted from a chain of events, often going back several years, that was never broken.

Secondly, the book does not cover only the technical side of these disasters, as many have. The human side of the calamity is included as well. The reader may find himself at the site of these crashes, feeling as if they have just occured.

Finally, the illustrations in this volume are first rate, and couldn't be better. Several chapters include photos of the actual doomed aircraft years before the crash. Others show the planes right before impact. All together they tell the aircraft's story by themselves. Tesch's illustrations and diagrams add considerably to the work.

I gave volume 1 four stars because many of the accidents included were minor and played little part in disaster history. The same cannot be said for this book. I have not read volumes 3 and 4 yet, but can only hope they are as good as this one.

Mr. Job has created an eye popping accounting of the risks we all assume when boarding a modern jet aircraft. The inclusion of photographs and sketched graphics along with crew conversation transcribed from cockpit recorders drew me into the unfolding disaster as if I was one of the doomed passengers. This work does an effective job of describing the technical analysis of the failed components or the human error induced by the flight crew. I recommend this to the interested laymen and professionals involved in this kind of work.

Since I was a child, I have always had a fear and fascination of aviation accidents. People ask me if I am afraid of flying, I tell them, "No, but I am afraid of 'not flying'".

McArthur Job's Air Disaster series (4 books) is my favorite, and perhaps the most comprehensive and detailed books on aviation accidents. It is written technically enough to engage experts in aviation field, yet easy enough for anyone to read, understand and enjoy.

I chose to review book 2 because I am most fascinated by the Sept 25, 1978 PSA-182 collision with a Cessna. I have read many other reports and accounts of this accident, and Job has written the most thorough and detailed account.

One of the reasons for this is the CVR transcript. I dont know what his resource was for the transcript, but it includes transmissions that do not appear in any other transcript I have read, such as FO Fox setting flaps and gear, and a few expressions/expletives ("Whoo!" "####") in the final few seconds of the disaster. While these by themselves do not enhance the investigation, they do give you a more accurate feeling of what those in the cockpit may have experienced.

Another reason is artist Matthew Tesch. He further dramatizes and explains the stories/reports, with a very generous supply of detailed drawings, maps, and diagrams. This is in addition to the many photos included in the book (all B&W, the only drawback).

The writing is outstanding. Job combines rich details and aviation-specific vocabulary/terminology, along with a easy story-telling style that lets you feel you are right there in the cockpit.

All in all, I would give Vol 2, as well as the entire series (although I have not read Vol 4), a full five stars.

While I think this is by far the best collection of aviation accidents, I am disappointed that there are some major events omitted (such as Delta 191), and some not so well known events included. I dont mind reading the lesser known events, I would only like to see more major events, even if the books cost more.

However, that still does not detract anything...Job has created an excellent and fascinating collection, and in my opinion these are still the most fascinating reads about aviation disasters that I could find.

The point of these books is MaCarthurs view that to pin point the cause of a disaster it is counter productive to blame an individual. It takes a number of steps for a disaster to happen. If any of these steps are interrupted the disaster may be averted. He also shows the case for cockpit resource management (CRM) that is, how to use the skills of all to best advantage. CRM is starting to flow into fields such as medicine (So the surgeon pays attention to the nurse telling him his about to cut of the wrong leg).

The second, and larger, edition in the Air Disaster format places us in some of the more difficult to understand disasters that have taken place. The central subject being the Douglas DC10 and the two major disasters that nearly ended it's career as a passenger liner, first the American Airlines O'Hare disaster, which of course was the result of negligence on the part of maintainance lazyness. I wonder if those who changed the engines that way before that tragic day can live with themselves today.

The second DC10 incident is the tragic Air New Zealand Antarctic sightseeing flight. Human error and the events leading up to the aircraft's demise are explained in great detail but there are still to many unanswered questions.

Another incident tells of the epic and heroic actions by the pilots of the now famous Japan Airlines 747SR flight that became the worlds worst single airliner disaster.

To ease the tension the author has included the British Airways flight that flew through a volcanic cloud over Java in 1983, the one flight that got away with it.

Once again Macarther Job has done well on a subject that is still very much taboo for many people.

This second volume is perhaps even better than the first. Technology has allowed the collection of more data from more recent accidents, allowing the author to truly delve into the details of the selected accidents.

Some say it's like watching a train wreck, you just can't look away. I think it's more of a knowledge is power series - those who may fear flying may gain a sense of security from the detail and the true infrequency of these events - plus from the amazing detail and dedication shown in the investigation of each incident and application to the airline industry.

This book (and its companion Volume 1) was a very good look at why certain notable air disasters happened. It not only looks at the specifics of the accident, but also what was learned from it to prevent others from happening, and I agree with other readers who say that it was unbiased. I also like the fact that the author looked for disasters with different causes (mid air, icing, etc.). The only thing I would have done differently would have been to cover at least one air disaster caused by sabotage, and to note the lessons learned from that (better security, etc.). This is a very good book to have and I highly recommend it.