By 1974, everybody in aviation knew about the DC-10 cargo door problem. It was an accident waiting to happen. And it did. “The cockpit voice recorder showed the sequence: Klaxon sounded as the plane exceeded the never-exceed speed. Captain Berkoz: ‘What happened?’ Captain Uelusman: ‘The cabin blew out.’ Berkoz shouts: ‘Are you sure? Bring it up, pull her nose up. ‘During the next 16 seconds, Berkoz sings the catchline from a famous Turkish TV commercial: ‘Acaba, nedir (Wonder what it is, what it is?)… We have lost it… Ooops, oops… We’ve lost it.’ Sound of impact signifying the brutal end to 346 lives.” A passionate account of the scandals behind more than 30 years of air crashes in America and around the world that were perpetrated by airline malpractice, design flaws, low-budget training, stupid pilot errors and the ignorance of wind shear. Do the words cover-up, conspiracy and corruption come to mind? A pre-deregulation United Airlines fares the worst. After deregulation, it’s Delta. The FAA is dog meat throughout. GR

Publisher: Diablo Western
Paperback: 656 pages