Destination Disaster: From the Tri-Motor to the DC-10 - The Risk of Flying

by Paul Eddy, Elaine Potter, Bruce Page

*Destination Disaster* is a remarkable book of the politics in the (wide-body) commercial-aviation industry, and an accounting of the political warfare between McDonald Douglas and Lockheed Aircraft to gain acceptance of their designs during the early competition for wide-body commercial aircraft. One company, McDonald, pushed hard in Washington to prevent the technically more-advanced L1011 from being accepted in the commercial airline industry, only to see its candidate, the DC-10, later prove to be a safety nightmare. It is a spell-binding account of the troubles that ensued. In the end, Douglas' effort helped prevent acceptance of the L1011 for large-scale orders, and the plane ended production far too soon due to lowered order rate.

Genres: Aviation, Nonfiction, History

434 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1976

Reviews

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been a spate of books recently on airline disasters, missing airplanes and other assorted aviation mysteries. Destination Disaster is the grand dame of them all.

Written over 30 years ago, Destination Disaster tells the story of the Turkish Airlines crash just outside Paris in 1974 and the politics and business practices of why it happened, how it might have been prevented, and how it changed the airline/aviation industry.

It is not for the feint-hearted as it describes the crash and its aftermath in great detail. It also takes you well inside the business of aviation, and that in itself is almost as hair-raising.

But, if you're an aviation buff as I am, you'll be fascinated by the information, the history, and the trials and tribulations of airline/aviation economics versus providing for the safety of the flying public. Similar issues continue to haunt the industry, and perhaps, readers will come away with a greater understanding of how the business side of aviation works, and the impact it can have on travelers.

I read this book many years ago and recently felt it was time for a reread. It's a fascinating book if you're at all interested in how big planes get up, stay up, and sometimes, fall out from the sky!!

[Jason Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1976 and impossible to find (I had to order this book from a specialty bookshop), “Destination Disaster” is a deep dive into the “war” between McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed Martin, with emphasis on the crash of Turkish Airlines, flight 981 in the late 1970s. The ineptness of the aviation industry (which we are seeing shades of today) in the 1970s was APPALLING. This is probably one of the densest books I have read but it digs deep to give you an underlying overview of why the industry was and is flawed when it comes to maintenance and accountability. Very technical. An interesting mix of fascination and boredom because it is THAT technical.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of it read like someone writing a school report, and grabbed the thesaurus.
Overall I liked the book, and the technical and in both sections were great.

[Brian Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was never comfortable flying on a DC10 after reading this in the early 80s.