Aviation Disasters: The World's Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950 [Hardcover]

David Gero (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2006

David Gero assembles a list of major air disasters since the 1950s across a wide spectrum of countries. He investigates every type of calamity, including those caused by appalling weather, mechanical failure, pilot error, inhospitable terrain and hostile action. The first incident of sabotage involving a commercial jetliner is covered, as is the first, much-feared crash of the jumbo jet era. High-profile episodes such as that of Pan American Flight 103 at Lockerbie in 1988 and the Twin Towers tragedy of 11 September 2001 are examined alongside less well-known disasters. An overview of the history of air passenger travel over the decades provides context, contrasting the rise of the threat of terrorism since the 1970s with the improvements rooted in the massively increased technological safeguards now available. The positive aspects of these tragedies are examined, such as the development of the many new technologies that help civil aviation authorities to prevent or minimize risks. Sophisticated control, navigation and safety aids have now become available to airlines, many having arisen directly from the recommendations of investigating boards.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Gero has always had a keen interest in aeronautics, starting his collection of air disaster reports at the age of 13. Since then he has gathered information on many thousands of incidents, involving all kinds of aircraft and from many different countries. He lives in California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: The History Press; 4 edition (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750931469
• ISBN-13: 978-0750931465
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,402,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good almanac of mishaps, but some notables are missing., October 1, 2001

By 

Matthew Duren (Tracy, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aviation Disasters: The World's Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950 (Hardcover)

By far, the best book I've come across covering a wide range of airline mishaps. Many notable and obscure crashes over the last five decades are covered, with special attention paid to some of the more mysterious ones. I was especially pleased at the attention given the mysterious mid-air explosion of the TWA 747 shortly after takeoff from JFK and the USAir 737 that had an uncontrolled rudder deflection. Both crashes were covered in good detail.
I was a bit disappointed, however, with the omission of 2 crashes that I wanted to know more about, namely the 737 at KLAX that was given clearance to land on a runway already occupied by a Fairchild Metroliner, and the PSA Bae146 that was suicide-crashed near So. California.
All in all, though, a good book for those interested in such things.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bible of Aviation Disasters, June 13, 2001

By 

Dorothy Norkus (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aviation Disasters: The World's Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950 (Hardcover)

As a student of aviation safety and accident investigation, this book is the ULTIMATE resource. I have used it several times while taking my aircraft accident studies as a reference material for the cause and interesting details for specific crashes. I have also used it to anwser many a question regarding airline disasters. Of all my aviation books, I find I use this one at least once a week to find information.

AVIATION DISASTERS is for anyone who ever wondered "Why?" and is fascinated with the story details and all the factors leading up to the cause of the event.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aviation Disasters, August 26, 2001

By 

M. Totty (Toledo, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aviation Disasters: The World's Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950 (Hardcover)

An exhaustive and thought provoking read - very hard to put down. Air travel is still, and by far, the safest mode of transportation available, and I would still take it over risking my life at the hands of...drivers on our freeways any day. However, in those rare instances when things do go seriously wrong in flight, the results are usually horrific. Pilot error, communications failure, mechanical breakdown, catastrophic structural failure - its all here. Gero provides detailed technical explanations of what went wrong, and the "lessons learned" from each crash that led to improvements in subsequent air travel that have made it safer for all of us. Highly recommended.