Deadly Departure: Why the Experts Failed to Prevent the TWA Flight 800 Disaster and How It Could Happen Again [Paperback]

Christine Negroni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2001

On July 17, 1996, an enormous explosion tore apart the fuselage of TWA Flight 800 in one of the worst air disasters in history. The ensuing investigation, writes Christine Negroni, was one of the most expensive in history - and tragically unnecessary. Despite the millions spent retrieving metal shards from the ocean and reconstructing the plane, aircraft designers had known the real answer for years. During flight, confined vapours in the fuel tanks can create a "bomb-like" environment that could be ignited by no more energy than that of a penny falling a few inches. Writing with exceptional clarity, drawing on vivid personal stories and intensive research, Christine Negroni presents a compelling expose of how the aircraft industry has (and continues to) undermine public safety.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Though it can be classified as airplane reading, you may not want to bring Deadly Departure with you on your next flight. In this gripping story of the investigation of the crash of TWA Flight 800, aviation correspondent Christine Negroni guides the reader through the intricacies of the U.S. government's most expensive crash investigation to date. Personal stories of passengers, their families, crash investigators, rescue workers, conspiracy theorists, and employees of Boeing and TWA underpin Negroni's account of the investigation as a catalog of conflict, incompetence, and deceit. She concludes that, contrary to the claims of aircraft manufacturers, fuel tank explosions are a real danger, but one that lies within the range of acceptable risk for both the industry and the Federal Aviation Authority.

If there was a conspiracy to hide the truth about what really happened to Flight 800, it began long before the crash, and it wasn't an effort to cover up action, it was a conspiracy of inaction. Although the newspapers were filled with experts insisting planes don't just fall out of the sky and fuel tank explosions can't bring down an airplane, insiders knew different.

If you have followed the strange and sad saga of TWA 800's mysterious end and its aftermath, Negroni's book is for you. --Julia Riches --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

What caused the tragedy of TWA fligiht 800, which exploded over Long Island Sound in 1996? Negroni, who covered the story for CNN, has a credible theory for what went wrong and how it could have been prevented. She also analyzes the misunderstandings, snafus and buck-passing that hindered the inquiry into the cause of the explosion. Flight 800 left New York with its side fuel tanks full and its center tank not quite empty. Negroni contends that the center tank blew up, ignited by a faulty electrical system. She combines interviews with experts, aviation history and relevant principles of engineering to buttress her theory. According to Negroni, nitrogen-based "fuel tank inerting" systems have prevented similar fires on other aircraft and, modified correctly, could have saved Flight 800. But Negroni's work is hardly a technical textbook. The gruesomely fascinating tale is enlivened with capsule bios of doomed passengers and crew, scientists, National Transportation Safety Board personnel and many others. Negroni likes to pretend to read dead people's minds ("It occurred to him often how much he'd been blessed," she writes of one TWA pilot) and "reconstructs" plenty of conversations. Fortunately, she maintains typographic distinctions between the quotes she reports and those she makes up. Briefer, racier and far more readable than Pat Milton's In the Blink of an Eye (which focused on the FBI investigators), this study is aimed not only at disaster buffs, but at readers curious about aviation, engineering, forensics, journalism, politics and the hot spots where all these interests collide. 31 b&w photos and diagrams. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; Revised edition (April 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060932651
• ISBN-13: 978-0060932657
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong Medicine!, July 19, 2002

By 

Mcgivern Owen L (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Departure: Why The Experts Failed To Prevent The TWA Flight 800 Disaster And How It Could Happen Again (Hardcover)

It's strange how many "unhelpful " internal amazon votes "Deadly Departure" has generated. I'm attributing that to the reality that the subject matter, the investigation and aftermath of TWA Flight #800, is so highly emotional. We amazon types obviously care about how our peers rate DD. Give author Negroni credit: She attempted to get her arms around a challenging, difficult and technical story. 4 stories are interspersed: There are vignettes of various passengers and crew. Then there are the fringe personalities-Governor Pataki, Rudy Giuliani, George Marlin (remember HIM?) and folks of that ilk-each with an "agenda". She writes of the unfortunate bureaucratic fighting and turf protecting among such agencies as the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board. And finally she covers the technical aspects-especially the role of a potentially lethal empty center fuel tank on a 747. I give the author "A" for effort in attempting to tie so many ends together; all in a brief, large print 237-page hardcover tale. I would have decidedly preferred it if she had concentrated more on the ongoing investigations and technical aspects of the disaster. That's because the personal stories require space and a longer plot. Given the hideously serious nature of the crash, more light should be shed upon 1) the documented dangers of the fuel tanks-the military took corrective action concerning them that the cowardly Federal Aviation Administration has not for civil planes. 2) The hostile role of the FBI and its' refusal to cooperate with the NTSB. Thank God lead agent James Kallstrom has retired. 3) The future: the FAA must simply stop the practice of "counting tombstones". The idea that "it's better to have an occasional crash than pay for expensive safety changes" is disgraceful and immoral. True enough, DD touches on these but loses them in the broad brush of a wider "human interest" tale. That said, DD remains an important and serious book, but these problems merit the subtraction of one star. It actually made me lose two nights sleep! I will definitely feel more nervous the next time I fly because I've been reminded that the bureaucrats at the FAA are watching the backs of the aviation industry, not mine or yours. It is strong medicine and I recommend a dose. DD touches sensitive nerves. More power to it!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An exceptionally well written account..., May 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadly Departure: Why The Experts Failed To Prevent The TWA Flight 800 Disaster And How It Could Happen Again (Hardcover)

An exceptionally well written account of what is a tragic, mysterious and fascinating airline accident. The author does a comprehensive job reporting and explaining the circumstances of the convoluted investigative process that followed the TWA 800 accident. "Deadly Departure" also introduces the reader to some of the backgrounds' of the victims, their families and those involved with the crash to this day. The countless research time and painstaking accuracy which support this book are quite apparent. As an aviation safety professional, I often find myself especially critical of aviation reporting. In this case, my fastidious criticism yields a "must read" recommendation.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An eye opener, but misses the mark on root cause., March 7, 2000

By 

Joe Ruszczyk (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Departure: Why The Experts Failed To Prevent The TWA Flight 800 Disaster And How It Could Happen Again (Hardcover)

Negroni provides us with an unsettling look at alleged shortfalls in airline safety, the politics of the business, and the friction between investigative government agencies. Disappointedly, her approach to the issues is a little sensationalistic and avoids some obvious facts which detract from the truly emotional issues. In example, the book ignores the changeover to a less volatile fuel by both the military and commercial airlines which weakens many of the fuel tank as the cause theories. Still, "Deadly Departure" does provide some new and interesting assumptions.