On a Wing and a Prayer: Interviews with Airline Disaster Survivors Review

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On a Wing and a Prayer: Interviews with Airline Disaster Survivors ReviewMalcolm MacPherson is known for his edited compilation of Cockpit Voice Recorder transcripts "The Black Box", in which he takes CVR transcripts from NTSB reports and edits them down to a more manageable size, and, I suppose, for dramatic effect at least to his way of thinking. Unfortunately, his editing there, and here, is frequently ill-advised. He is not a pilot or flight crew member, or especially knowledgeable about aircraft operations, and it shows.
In "On a Wing and a Prayer", he takes verbatim accounts (from the NTSB Survival Factors Group records) from survivors and witnesses and edits them into a somewhat coherent account of the accident from the perspective of the victims. Unfortunately, due to his lack of aviation background, he frequently does not know what is important and what isn't important to achieve an understanding of the accident, and, worse, frequently inserts 'clarifying' information in brackets into the survivor testimony that is sometimes completely wrong. It would have helped immensely if he had had a pilot and flight attendant review his manuscript for errors and editorial quirkiness. Don't misunderstand me; I don't think that Mr. MacPherson is a bad writer, per se (in fact, I think he is a sometimes brilliant writer, particularly noteworthy is his recent "The Cowboy and His Elephant"); I just think that in technical areas that he has virtually no comprehension or understanding of; it would be wise to have genuine experts review the manuscript for errors.
I think that this book is interesting to read, as so often the ordeal of the survivors is quickly forgotten after an accident, and it is frequently these perceptions and the information that survivors offer that are vital to improving future air safety. Three stars overall. I appreciate this interesting and important concept being explored in book form; I would have liked the author to have had his work proofread for accuracy of his interpretations, and sensibility of editorial choices.On a Wing and a Prayer: Interviews with Airline Disaster Survivors Overview
"I told myself, 'Don't panic! You can get out!' . . . I believed that my positive thinking helped me to survive. I did not panic. I did not want to die, and I intended to do everything necessary to prevent it. I decided that if I was going to die, then it was God's will."

Female, age forty-four, seat 19D Charlotte, North Carolina, July 2, 1994, USAir flight 1016

From the editor of the cult classic The Black Box, here are fifteen riveting accounts of air disasters in which passengers tell in their own words how they faced the ultimate test of survival. Drawn from the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) own postincident interviews with disaster survivors, these case studies of what happened during total emergencies will leave readers with an indelible image of personal courage and of the indomitable will to survive. Flight crews, mothers, business travelers, and others reveal in these detailed interviews what they thought, felt, and did -- from their first awareness of danger to preparing for impact, to their struggle to escape and help others to survive. Their incredible recollections of those harrowing moments are interspersed in synchronized time with excerpts from cockpit voice recorders that chronicle the cockpit crews' valiant efforts to bring the aircraft home safely.

What did these survivors do, consciously or not, to increase their survival odds through a nightmare of darkness, fire, smoke, and twisted debris? How did they handle their fear? Gripping as only real-life stories can be, On a Wing and a Prayer lets readers experience the crisis and eventual triumph through the eyes, ears, and emotions of the people who lived to tell the tale.


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