- Paperback
- Publisher: The Promotional Reprint Co Ltd (4 May 1997)
- ISBN-10: 1856481824
- ISBN-13: 978-1856481823
- Product Dimensions: 27.8 x 19 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,271,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
There is a strange fascination in aviation disaster, partly because of the likelihood of an almost total lack of survivors, partly because of their aftermath. Like the players in a detective story the accident investigators and boards of enquiry try to put together, sometimes literally piece by piece, the reasons for the accident and, therefore, the ways to stop it happening again. While the stories in this book are filled with past tragedies, they are also about hopes for the future. Although they deal with the disastrous loss of machines, these accounts are also stories of people - often brave people in the face of great danger - and if lessons can be learned to prevent the recurrence of these catastrophies, those who died so tragically will not have done so in vain. Air Disasters looks at 12 of the most significant disasters covering the years from 1930 to 1985: the crash of the airship R101, which led to the demise of the dirigible as a means of air transport in the UK; the remarkable story of the detective work that followed the Comet crashes of 1953-54; the Munich air disaster of 1958 that caused the deaths of so many of Manchester United's 'Busby's Babes'; the Tident tragedy at Staines in 1972; the Paris and Chicago DC-10 crashes in 1974 and 1979; the BEA/Inex-Adria midair collision over Zagreb in 1976; the Tenerife disaster - the worlds worst ever; the Air New Zealand DC-10 that crashed into Mount Erebus; the Korean 747 shot down over Russia; and the two massive 747 disasters of 1985 - the Japan Air Lines aircraft near Tokyo and Air-India flight's disappearance off the Irish Coast.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Most informative and incredibly interesting, although there is an element of voyeurism inherent in all books of this type. I first read it about 10 years ago and recently re-read it. I now find it slightly dated and with too much minutiae which for makes it less readable. Nonetheless, interesting.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A very well written and interesting book.
6 Dec 1998
Format:Hardcover
Aircraft Disasters covers the major accidents in modern aviation history beginning with the R101 airship fire and ending with Boeing 747 disasters in 1985. I really appreciated the excellent balance maintained throughout the book between technical detail and readability. Each accident is expertly described with its unique features carefully brought out. The author takes pains to highlight all the relevent factors necessary to understand the reasons why a particular crash occured. An example would be the exhaustive water tank testing done at Farnborough in England on a DeHavilland Comet airframe to discover the cause (metal fatigue) of the Comet crashes in the early 1950's. Another example would be the detail description of the DC10 cargo door latching mechanism that failed and which resulted in the crash of a DC10 near Paris in 1974. I particularly appreciated the author's second by second recounting verbatim of aircraft-to-control tower communication - one really feels the situation in the cockpit in the vital seconds prior to impact. The only negative experience I had in reading this book is knowing it would end. I have read it twice and anticipate reading it again soon! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in reading about prominent air disasters in a way that extends beyond a superficial description and yet is more readable than say, an Aviation Week and Space Technology accident report.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
It's for the pro-and the pax
5 Jun 2001
Format:Hardcover
Stewart's penchant for detail is evident throughout this seminal work. A compilation of airline accident investigation findings which run the gamut from design flaws and adverse weather, to impatient pilots, and distracted controllers. Superior in content to many books written by non-investigators, or "hired-guns" who work for lawyers, the book does not elaborate on the events which occurred after the cause was determined, or the disposition of recommendations forwarded from air safety investigators. Though this may seem an oversight, some of these recommendations are STILL being considered by-or are rejected in compliance with-the regulatory body (in the U.S., that is the FAA). Nevertheless, one can gain a valuable insight into the root causes of many air disasters.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Authoratitive accounts comprehensible to laymen
2 Aug 2005
Format:Paperback
A thoroughly enjoyable book at the same time as being technical enough to explain in a clear manner the causes of so many seemingly incomprehensible tragedies. For myself, the chapter on the Trident crash at Staines helped lay a few ghosts to rest. I flew as a stewardess many times on Papa India and I needed to know what exactly happened.
Carolyn Haward
Carolyn Haward
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