Airlines and Air Mail: The Post Office and the Birth of the Commercial Aviation Industry Book

I knew some of the history of this aircraft accident so when I saw this book in the library I grabbed it hoping to find out more details about what caused it. Not only did I find out the very detailed cause but of the whole process that went into aircraft accident investigations. What a fantastic read this was! There is such a dynamic process involved with the NTSB, FAA, ALPA, Boeing and the airline that had the accident, in this case USAir. I never realized how they all worked both together and against each other but in the end this is the process that actually worked best to solve an inherent flaw in the equipment. The different personalities and backgrounds of all the individuals involved in the investigation is a very interesting, each has their own reasons for thinking and acting the way they do and you can't put your finger on any one group and say, "Hey they are the bad guys here!" There really isn't a bad guy in this story. even though you may not agree with the defensive reasoning one entity may use, there is still some validity to why each group or agency thinks like they do. The effort put forth and the resources applied by each and every player in the investigation is commendable. Everyone wants to get to the truth but no one wants the finger to end up pointing at them yet it must point somewhere when it's over. This book is well worth the read!