Air Disaster 2: The Jet Age

by Macarthur Job, Matthew Tensch (Illustrator)

Jet travel shrank the world. Planes could fly faster, further and at higher altitude; opening the door to foreign holidays to the masses. But, it came at a price. In the early days this new advanced era of aviation faced multiple unforeseen problems, resulting in catastrophic accidents and inevitably the loss of human lives. From the first jetliner, the ill-fated Comet, to an horrific Boeing 747 mid-air collision at Tenerife, award-winning Macarthur Job – one of the world’s foremost aviation writers, and himself a pilot - tells the stories and unpicks the causes of eighteen fateful air disasters.Based on accident reports and extensive research he reveals how these calamities led to the development of the safest and most reliable form of transport in the world.Illustrated with photographs and technical drawings by aviation artist Matthew Tesch, 'Air Disaster 2: The Jet Age' covers the period between 1952 and 1977.Other books in the Disaster 1: The Propeller EraAir Disaster 3: Terror In The Sky

Genres: Nonfiction, Aviation

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2014

Reviews

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 3 out of 5]

⤅ Nonfiction Book of the Month: November 2022

Covering the period from the late 1950s-80s, Job - a veteran pilot, air accident investigator, and aviation writer - recounts the story of some of the most significant crashes during that time.

He's excellent at narrating the sequence of events which leads up to a crash, and giving the reader titbits about the passenger manifest and crew personalities. I know some other readers were annoyed by his habit of delving into passenger backgrounds, but I actually don't mind; most aviation writers don't bother too much with who's actually died in a crash, unless it was someone famous (e.g. Stan Rogers, who perished aboard Air Canada Flight 797 in 1983).

A few of the chapters in this book really stand out for being well-written, such as his discussion of the Tenerife disaster in 1977 (still the worst aviation accident in history, with over 500 deaths).

Where Job falls down is that he focuses WAY too much on the technical details, and isn't great at breaking them down so they're easily comprehensible. His prose is riddled with jargon. Inexplicably, he'll constantly remind a reader of basic facts (e.g. that Flight Level 330 means 33,000 feet) but not expound on difficult acronyms, like VOR or DME.

Definitely don't try this book unless a) you have a solid background in the show Air Crash Investigation; or b) you have experience reading Admiral Cloudberg on Medium, who writes longform articles about aviation accidents in a MUCH more accessible way.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was crap. First off the editing was TERRIBLE. There is actually a photograph where the caption says, "CAPTION NEEDED." There are several other editing mistakes that are inexcusable. Just terrible.

The content of the book is ok. If you like reading analysis of airplane crashes it will entertain you but it is basically story telling and not very thoughtful or insightful.

Very disappointing.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I'm a fan of investigations of plane crashes and looked forward to this one, but the writing is sub-optimal, at best. Maybe a good editor might have rescued it. At the beginning of the book there were a lot of exclamation points, but that seemed to taper off. In most of the 15 chapters the author spent too much time talking about the passenger list, which really didn't interest me, so I began skimming all those pages. I suspect this series is probably self-published, and it shows.

The actually summaries of NTSB findings were reasonably well done, though I already knew about most of these crashes since I've been a fan of the Smithsonian Channel series named "Air Disasters" since its inception.

If you are into air disaster investigation you might enjoy this one.

[Kurt Rackman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent selection of mishaps and accidents with accessible analysis

I really recommend this book. Written in a clear and readable style, it takes some of the most infamous accidents from the Comet crashes of the 50s to the Tenerife disaster and examined them from the perspective of an investigation but with a firm eye on the human factor and personal stories to underline that these are human tragedies above all.

Causes may vary but ultimately all of these cases are human stories and feature human weaknesses and errors from pilots to airline management and regulatory inertia.

Almost definitive works on the subject, it's great to see these finally available on Kindle.

[MR CHRISTOPHER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

If you are like me fascinated by the the work of the AAIB and there absolutely amazing ability, to find the reason for each and every plane crash, this is another book that takes an inside look at what happened in another series of accidents. Well written and very readable.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book; Well Done

This is a good, well written and well documented book that is deservedly a sequel to its similar propeller-era text. The common layout of each crash gives the reader consistent information. I'll look forward to the 3rd book in this series.

[Jaci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had to subtract one star because it was a bit technical at times. The author had a tendency to go overboard with the airplane mechanisms and jargon when I just wanted to know what had happened to the people!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers many of the (in)famous aircraft incidents, while adding a unique perspective.

[Thomas E Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit episodic in nature, but a great overview of the most influential and tragic accidents in the early jet age. The author speaks the aviation language fluently and provides sufficient technical detail and helpful diagrams/pictures to flesh out the scenarios. Undeniably sad at times and some might find the magnitude of some of the mishaps frightening, but studying the mistakes of the past is what we must do to avoid them in the future...

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of various air disasters around the world since the 1950s, although the stories are sometimes bogged down by copious technical details. Most frustratingly, I feel that not enough time is given to the human aftermath, making the sections seem incomplete. Also, there were various editing issues within the e-book, though that may not be the case with the physical book.

[Hammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting to know some of the most famous accidents in early years.

Packed with accident details telling what, when, where, when, and how.
Definitely a must read for those who is looking for event layout in easy understanding terms.