Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds: The Tragedy and Triumph of ASA Flight 529 Book

In August 1995, twenty-six passengers and a crew of three board a commuter plane in Atlanta headed for Gulfport, Mississippi. Shortly after takeoff they her an explosion and some see a mangled engine lodged against the wing. From that moment, nine minutes and twenty seconds elapse until the crippled plane crashes in a west Georgia hayfield. Gary Pomerantz takes listeners deep into the hearts and minds of the people aboard, each of whom prepares in his or her own way for what may come.

Ultimately, ninteen people survive both the crash and its devastating aftermath, all of them profoundly affected by what they have seen and more important, what they have done to help themselves and others.

The psychologically illuminating real-life drama about ordinary prople and how they behave in extraordinary circumstances is suprisingly optimistic. In telling the remarkable stories of these twenty-nine men and women, Gary Pomerantz has written one of the most compelling books in recent memory. Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds speaks as powerfully about our capacity to care for others as it does about the strength of our will to live. This rich and rewarding audiobook will linger in your mind long after you finish listening.

Publishers Weekly

The first tape of Pomerantz's account is almost unbearably dry: a detailed report of a young man's career decisions; a repair job on a stress-fractured propeller; groups of seemingly unrelated, meticulously recorded facts. And Gaines's objective, deadpan reading does not spice it up. But the story and narration pick up considerable speed. The title refers to the amount of time the 29 passengers and crew aboard flight 529 from Atlanta to Mississippi had to say their prayers, watch their lives flash before their eyes and prepare themselves for the inevitable crash after the airplane's left engine failed. The plane crashed in a Georgia hayfield and fire consumed the fuselage. Pomerantz's unnerving journalistic distance, iterated by the professional, subdued reading by Gaines (who starred in Contact and other Broadway shows), begins to seem appropriate as the nightmarish crash plays out. Pomerantz interviewed survivors (19 in total) and eyewitnesses, giving the account a stark, terrifying immediacy. Melting clothing (tip: always wear cotton clothing for flights), burning flesh, dead nerves and panic become all the more real (and grisly) for the flat prose and tone. Heroic accounts of men and women unselfishly working to save as many lives as possible make the story ultimately engaging and uplifting. Simultaneous release with the Crown hardcover (Forecasts, July 23). (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.