Collision on Tenerife: The How and Why of the World's Worst Aviation Disaster

by Jon Ziomek, Caroline Hopkins (Other)

Overview

One of the jets, KLM Flight 4805, was traveling more than 150 miles an hour and was within seconds of lifting off when it crashed into Pan Am Flight 1736 taxiing in its path. The loss of lives was staggering--583 dead. The crash happened after a lengthy series of major and minor human errors. In the intervening years, has aviation advanced to the point that such a disaster can't happen again?

In this riveting account, written from the perspective of the passengers in the cabin as well as the crew members in the cockpits, Jon Ziomek explains how this largely forgotten accident took place--and what has happened since to reduce the possibility of another such catastrophe.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940161855119
Publisher:	Post Hill Press
Publication date:	10/23/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	874,130
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Jon Ziomek is a former Chicago newspaper reporter and retired Northwestern University journalism teacher and assistant dean. He has been a freelance writer for more than 40 years.

Editorial Reviews

This book tells the story of what my parents went through as they miraculously survived the Pan Am crash. Yet, only those close to my mother would know the impact this crash had on everything she did for the remainder of her life

One of Caroline and Warren Hopkins daughters - Linda Hopkins

As one of 75 initial survivors of the Canary Islands aircraft accident on March 27,1977, and a contributor to this book, I am interested to read what some of the other survivors have to say about their experience. How could two 747s collide on the ground? They did, and this is our story. Jon Ziomek has compiled a great list of survivor memories.

Tenerife survivor and author of "Never Wait For The Fire Truck" - David Alexander

Collision on Tenerife is compelling and engaging, taking the reader from how it happened to why it happened, and revealing the series of individually inconsequential decisions that perfectly aligned and resulted in disaster. A must read.

Captain, American Airlines (retired) - Mark Martin

Ziomek's nail-biting narrative of the horrific crash and aftermath of two jumbo jets -- still the worst air crash in history -- is impossible to put down. The detailed account of each step leading to the disaster is both frightening and a cautionary tale on how a few missed signals and miscommunications can put a plane on a trajectory to doom. More important, it outlines what has been done to prevent similar crashes in the future – and what still remains to be done.

Professor, Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University; co-editor, Truth Counts: A Practical Guide for News C - Ellen Shearer

Here we have – finally – a harrowing account, impressively researched and thoroughly reported, of the world's worst air disaster. Ziomek offers deep insight into not only the behavioral errors that led up to the disaster but also the psychological aspects of catastrophe and its aftereffects. A story that lingers in the mind long after the reading.

Author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Gone Girl and Sharp Objects, soon to be an HBO series - Gillian Flynn