Black Box: Inside the World's Worst Air Crashes

One of the best books, whether fiction or non-fiction, that I have read in a long, long time.In a way, I'm quite glad that I am disabled (I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2007 and this has progressed over the last 10 years, to the state where my 2nd marriage has collapsed so I am divorced again and I was forced to quit working in 2011, so have got plenty of time to read books like this one) as being in that state means I can probably still afford the cost of flying to a lot of places, thanks to the influx of low cost airlines like Ryanair, who have flown my ex-wife and myself to many European destinations, but I cannot afford the travel insurance.I love flying. Even after reading this book and having watched every episode of Air Crash Investigations (known overseas as Mayday) I will still love it. But my goodness, the tales of what caused so many planes to crash really is an eyeopener. I recommend this to you. But on the understanding that when on your next flight you watch the safety demonstration before it takes off, and you have located and counted where all the safety exits off the plane are.Just in case you need them.

This is a good book by an authoritative writer who knows his subject. As an introduction to the subject it is very reasonable, giving outlines of the various reasons why aeroplanes crash and citing specific instances.However, I was looking for a book which contains more technical detail. The analysis of any crash is a lengthy process which consists of eliminating possible hypotheses about the disaster. The answer to what happened is whatever remains. All the summaries are accurate but it would be good to know why these particular conclusions were drawn. There are good reasons known exceedingly well by the author and they could be explained.Nonetheless, it is a good book and I am glad to have purchased it.

Really couldnt get into this, thought it would be descriptions of plane crashes, instead it was a sentance her, a paragraph there, about all different planes! Really dissappointed, as I thought it would be interesting. Would take it back, if I bought the hard copy.

If you follow and have read ASN aircraft accident descriptions and probable cause of an accident, this book does not have much to add. The writing is old-fashioned and boring. Also, there is a lot of criticism of Airbus and the French and high praise for Boeing, perhaps the book was ordered by Boeing?

Very informative, up to date

still reading - cant seem to put this book ( kindle ) down - bought to read on my holiday in 6 weeks - read first few pages and was hooked - If you love air crash investigation etc you will love this

When a pilot realises his aircraft is doomed to crash, the words he speaks convey his desperate intention to save the plane and its passengers. Nothing can illustrate this so well as his very last words recorded on the CVR, as detailed in this excellent book.

Couldn't put this book down. Fascinating for anyone with an interest in aircraft and flying. I thought it was an absolute bargain.

Einerseits ist es natürlich sehr ernüchternd, über die Flugunfälle zu lesen. Andererseits aber stellt sich heraus, dass man jeden einzelnen kennt, dass es also gar nicht so viele Flugunfälle gibt. Die Zahl der Flüge nimmt zu, die Zahl der Passagiere nimmt zu, die Zahl der Flugunfälle nimmt ab. 2017 gab es im Linienverkehr weltweit keinen Unfall mit Todesfolge!

I had wanted to read this edition since before I had an Amazon account, having already read the previous one (the one which was updated to discuss the Concorde crash)This was still good, but disappointingly it was rewritten in ways that I feel vitiated the feel of the book that I so enjoyed in the previous edition.

Imaging my surprise when this wasn't ethnic porn!!! But a good story nonetheless although I did keep expecting a dark nurse to get it on with someone on the flight.

Well documented, well written.Approaching airplane accidents to the non professional in an easily understandable way.I would recommend it to whoever may be interested on the subject

A fabulous read ! It won't stop me flying though . I loved the TV series but the book gives a much deeper insight into the causes of the crashes .Of particular interest was the chapter on the pilots contribution to the disasters especially in the light of the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian flight MH370 in March .

Any aviaton buff should read this bòok! The hows and whys are nicely explained in a no nonsense fashion. Reccomended.

Everything you ever wanted to know as a layman about air crash investigations. Especially in light of air Malaysia disappearance .

I really enjoyed this book because many of the NTSB accidents that are laid out in the book, I had heard of, but never really knew the whole story. I have great respect for the men and women of the NTSB who have to respond to the accidents and see sights I hope I'll never see. The book also goes into accidents in Europe, and different parts of the world. I was very interested in the detail of TWA flight 800 that blew up over Long Island, the author brings out information that I never heard. As a pilot myself, who lost a brother in an aircraft crash, I was very compelled to go to the scene of the accident. At the end of the book the author talks about this very thing.The police would not let me close to the plane, but then a worker from the NTSB came over, told the police it was alright to let me go with him in the woods to the crash site. I was always thankful to this man who was the head investigator of the crash scene. It gave me a quick understanding of what most likely might havehappened even before the official NTSB report was out. When reading the book I got the impression that politics and money often get in the way of safety. What else is new!! Now with what I just said and giving the book five stars, I must say that I got off to a bad start with the author in the forward section of the book when he seems to want to crucify us general aviation pilots out there. Like any group of people who share a common interest, you have the bad ones that make it hard on us. Most of the pilots I know who reside below 10,000 feet do their best to obey the rules, after all, the FAA will come down hard on us with fines, loss of license, etc., and most of us don't have a death wish. Yes there are cowboys and showoffs, but they usually don't stick around for long, if you know what I mean. Enough said, I just don't agree with Nicholas Faith about us GA pilots, but still think this book is great reading. Read it and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If you have interest in aviation, or in history, this book is a great read. Even if you fly only occasionally, you will end by appreciating all of the technological and safety advances that have been implemented after people gave up their lives while flying. I remember when many of the air crashes occurred that are well documented by Mr. Faith. However, in many cases I had no appreciation of the safety improvements resulting from those crashes - things I take for granted when I fly today. This book is not scary; this book is thoughtful and compassionate toward the victims. It is also not shy about pointing out flaws and faults with airlines, governments of various countries and corporations. Important takeaway: travelers should stop trying to haul all of their worldly goods onto a plane and cramming them into the overhead bins. After reading this book, I find that I would rather pay to check a bag and live to wear the clothes in my luggage. Better that than being the unintentional cause of some victim's horrific injury in the event of inflight turbulence or an evacuation. Don't agree? Read Black Box!

I had to stop reading at 53%, when the author says about an accident in Brazil: "In September 1988, a Brazilian pilot on a routine domestic flight became so obsessed with listening to a football match between his country and Chile that in the end he had to make a crash landing in the jungle after having flown in exactly the opposite direction to his supposed route. It was said that his first question after he had hacked through the jungle to meet his rescuers was 'who won?'" This is very far from truth. The pilot did a very bad work indeed, as he set the direction of flight to 2700 instead of 0270 (270.0 instead of 027.0). Then, after that, he could not detect the erro of flying to the sun at the end of the day instead of having the sun at his left. But the instrument for that direction to be registered had been modified and, after the accident, other pilots did a similar error in simulations. As the fiction of listening to the match, the pilot tryied to get directions from radio transmitters as it was at the time of the match. This kind of basic and huge mistake made loose all interest in reading the entire book.

THIS VERY INTERSTING BOOK LOOKS AT ALL THE MAJOR JET CRASHES THAT OCCURRED SINCE THE JET ERA BEGAN IN THE LATE 60'S. IT EXAMINES THE DETAIL OF THE CRASHES, THE DIFFICULTY IN THE PASSENGERS AND CREW ESCAPING, AND THEN THE DETAILED OFFICIAL INVESTIGATORS REPORTS INTO HOW AND WHY THE CRASHES OCCURRED. THE BOOK IS BROKEN DOWN INTO TYPES OF CRASHES AND WHAT THE AUTHORITIES DID AND DID NOT DO TO RECTIFY THEM. FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN AVIATION MATTERS, YOU WILL FIND THIS BOOK VERY INTERESTING AND WELL WORTH ITS FIVE STAR RATING.

I became interested in the topic of aviation investigations after reading the "Cockpit Culture" chapter of Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers." I had high expectations (based on the title of this book, cover and some reviews) that this book would pique my interest even further by taking an in-depth look at the investigation process of certain cases and the outcome. Unfortunately, that was not the case.I'm sure some aviation enthusiasts enjoyed this book, but as I read the text, I felt completely uninterested and unengaged. It was almost as if I was listening to one of those people (you know who I'm talking about) who rambles on and on about a topic they're well-versed in without any regard for the fact you have the glazed over look in your eyes. I found a few parts of the book interesting----the history/development of the planes themselves, and the role and reconfiguration of the NTSB throughout the years, but the interesting parts were obviously few and far between. This, along with the fact the book lacks focus, and doesn't flow well, was enough to have me tapping out by Chapter 12.It's a shame---because I think this book could have been so much better---

Perhaps this review is unfair as I am not quite done with half of the book. However, what I have read so far has been like a stream of consciousness essay. Kind of all over the place. Every time I think the author will explain an aside or go into more detail about a specific incident, he jumps thirty years to discuss another crash or near failure.It also does have a kind of condescending British have and can do no wrong and the rest of the world is incompetent when it comes to airplanes, design, and logistics. He keeps referring to a rivalry between the Americans and British that is never fully explained and comes across as more of his opinion than any concrete facts.I will continue to read it as I hope the writing gets less chaotic. If I could choose one word to describe the overall feeling I get while reading this book... I'm going to choose 2 words: bizarre and tiring.

I don't know why I have such a morbid curiosity towards plane crashes but have bought several of the black box books. This one isn't just transcripts of the black boxes but has good analysis. Since reading this, I've actually become a pilot and find it extremely helpful (I cover this in my aviation youtube channel Taking Off). I highly recommend this book if you're curious about some of the major airline crashes and what caused them. I wish there was a book out that covered the GA crashes.

The book covers a lot of interesting details about some well known crashes, but when the author reports an egregious error as fact, one has to wonder how accurate rest of the book is.When describing the dramatic 1976 rescue by Israeli forces of hostages at the Entebee airport, he says the rescuers entered the aircraft.... not true, the hostages were in a building. He also reports those who were killed in the raid inaccurately.In the next paragraph he talks about the 1972 Sebena hostage rescue in Tel Aviv, stating that the brother (Yonatan) of current Israeli President, Benjamin Netanyahu, was killed in this raid. In actuality, Benjamin Netanyahu was part of the rescue team and his older brother, Yonatan, was killed 4 years later during the Entebee raid . These are facts that are so well documented and available to the general public that it makes one wonder how much research actually went into the book and how much the author just made up.