Forced Landing

by Thomas Block

Tran-American Airline DC-9, Flight 255 departing from gate 23, Kennedy International Airport, New York for Chicago, carried just under one hundred passengers, a flight crew of five and one dog.

More unusually, i the freight hold was over 3,00lbs of gold bullion valued at over $25,000,000. For security reasons this information was known only to one pilot. And no one on board knew of the final addition to the plane's cargo: two radio controlled bombs.

One, exploded deliberately in flight as a demonstration, was enough to kill outright the co-pilot and air hostess. After that, the threat of the second was enough to ensure the surviving pilot's obedience to orders.

Orders that set in motion the most mercilessly daring skyjack in aviation history.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Thomas Block has written a number of aviation-oriented novels, many which have gone on to acquire best-seller status in numerous countries. His novel writing began with the publication of "Mayday" in 1979. That novel was rewritten with his boyhood friend, novelist Nelson DeMille in 1998 and remains on DeMille's extensive backlist. "Mayday" became a CBS Movie of the Week in October, 2005.

Several of the other novels by Block include "Orbit" (a top bestseller in Germany, among other nations), "Airship Nine", "Forced Landing" (also done as a radio serialization drama in Japan), "Skyfall", "Open Skies" and "Captain". Thomas Block is still writing both fiction and non-fiction, and has edited and updated his earlier novels into ebooks in all the major formats and also into new full-sized (trade soft cover) printed versions.

Block's magazine writing began in 1968 and over the next five decades his work has appeared in numerous publications. He worked 20 years at FLYING Magazine as Contributing Editor, and as Contributing Editor to Plane & Pilot Magazine for 11 years. Block became Editor-at-Large for Piper Flyer Magazine and Cessna Flyer Magazine in 2001. During his long career as an aviation writer he has written on a wide array of subjects that range from involvement with government officials to evaluation reports on most everything that flies.

An airline pilot for US Airways for over 36 years before his retirement in April, 2000, Captain Thomas Block has been a pilot since 1959. Since 2002, he has lived on a ranch in Florida with his wife Sharon where they board, compete and train horses. Complete information (including direct links to booksellers) is available at http://www.ThomasBlockNovels.com or through the author’s additional website at http://www.FlyingB-Ranch.com. For Facebook users, complete information about Thomas Block Novels can also be found at two interlinked Facebook sites:
http://www.Facebook.com/Captain.by.Th...
http://www.Facebook.com/ThomasBlockNo....

Reviews

[Mags Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by Referral.
Two days ago I was on the phone with a gentleman with whom I went through Naval flight training. He was Author Block’s second seater in commercial aircraft and suggested I look up and read “Forced Landing”. Hence I’m now writing a review. There are a number of former military pilots who have chosen to record their military careers, and several who have published. I mention this because there is excellent research educating others about the service. There are also some incredible experiences, some sad, some funnier than all get out (— the latrine mortaring in Dick Herman’s ‘The Trash Haulers’), and there is the personal history of individuals who have been there and done that. Some of the stories are a little difficult to follow and can use more help from publishers, and some keep you on the edge of your chair. I like to find recent books of authors I’ve read from a few years back. Most improve their writing skills considerably with time. I rated Forced Landing at 4 stars, and think it more like 3.75, but it’s also the first I’ve read of his, and it was also one of his earliest. Will I read more of his books? For sure. The only authors I don’t reread are when the research and story details are incomplete or out of line. So if you’ve served on carriers, ASW, diesel subs or dealt with museum setups (I was offered setting up one in Puerto Rico) then you’ll find Author Block did a pretty good job of research. Without that, the story line is irrelevant. VR, Mags

[Dominic Salvucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book and would have earned more stars if not for the abrupt ending. The author does a great job making the reader root for even some of the villains. There are some leaps of faith in the plot, but none are insurmountable, it is a work of fiction after all. My main issue is with the story ending with the subplots dangling, almost as if the publisher said “wrap it up” and the author just added a paragraph or two to end it. All in all, not a bad read.

[Nancy Younghans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Reading

An exciting thriller! Anyone who enjoys aviation thrillers will enjoy this book! An excellent writer who keeps you guessing about the outcome at the end.

[Muneeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense fast paced book. I really liked how the whole hijacking/shipjacking/submarine-jacking happened. Didnt like how the action went on till the last page n then the story abruptly finished.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A passenger plane carrying one hundred people and three thousand pounds of gold is hijacked. Character strengths and flaws abound as the passengers strive to survive.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was written about thirty years ago and the plot is very far-fetched, it was an entertaining read after the first two chapters.

[Serene webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, not my typical plot but it was good. He wrapped up the ending great and quickly!