Air Crashes and Miracle Landings: 60 Narratives: (How, When ... and Most Importantly Why)

Major update September 2012 with proofreader specializing in aviation.

The Colgan Air disaster was added and the Air France AF447 crash rewritten with a unique countdown timeline. These two accidents show how pilots, having become dependent on automation, may may not be able to cope with certain situations unless trained in a new way.

As before, includes Tenerife (the worst-ever multi-aircraft disaster), Japan Airlines JL123 (the worst single-aircraft disaster), the de Havilland Comet (the first jetliner), DC-10, supersonic Concorde, Kegworth air disaster (where pilots mistakenly shut down the good engine), Piché's 80-mile glide to a safe landing on an island in the Atlantic after his fuel ran out, a mid-air collision where a father subsequently assassinated the air traffic controller he presumed was responsible, AA587 NYC, Avianca NYC, Sully's Hudson River ditching ...

The lessons from these and the other accidents narrated and analysed here helped make flying so safe today. Those lessons are applicable in medicine and many other fields.