I found Turbulence in a used book store, and for $2.00, why not? A good "airplane over the desert hijacking" with good and bad guys sounded like an interesting read. Dr. Brian Logan has a real problem with the airlines, one in particular, because his wife and unborn child died due to negligence and a disregard for passenger well being. He us just abouit at the end of his rope and is barely hanging on to his sanity, his job is in jeopardy and he is falling apart. In Washington, DC, the usual agencies who should be concerned about safety, hijackings, terrorism and Homeland Security are up to their usual infighting, dreaming up harebrained schemes, chipping away at each others' credibility and in general, acting as we expect our bureaucrats to misbehave. Meridian Airlines has the most disfunctional crew, pilots, management, and assorted cast of nitwits to ever take to the skies. No training, wrong training, hysteria, rudeness, oversold flight, lost luggage, bad food/no food! You name it - this airline does it. And Meridian is the airline that "killed" Brian Logan's family. Put these three elements together with an unexpected flight to Africa, an airline going broke, trigger-happy Feds and a cabin completely filled with passenger air-rage, and you have the perfect "what the heck is going to happen next" book. There are great characters. The Doctor, of course. the Flight Attendant who takes an extra shift, and the one who is worse than Cruella DeVille. Then there is the Captain who has absolutely no clue what he is doing or where he is going and is too proud to admit it to his 1st. Officer who is totally distracted by the thought of his wife leaving him. We have a sick baby inflight, a gun fight on the ground, some crazy African officers in Nigeria and a mutiny! John J. Nance is one of the most respected Aviation authors writing today. He is the aviation analyst for ABC News, a professional speaker, an attorney, a Sr. U.S. Air Force reserve officer/pilot and a veteran airline captain. He certainly knows his stuff and it shows in the details of every book he writes. He takes the time to explain, without talking down to the reader. He deftly developes his cast of characters and the reader immediately becomes involved in their individual stories as they fit into the plot. I was particulary interested in the way Nance portrayed the Washington gang in all their gung-ho shoot 'em down enthusiasm. And the total belief that the scenario that was designed by computers and people never involved with these real life circumstances could possibly be wrong. The horror of 9/11 is woven thru this subplot and gives credence to the behavior without condoning it. I have read two other Nance books and have enjoyed them both. If you like airplanes, good drama, an author who knows how to turn a plot till you have no idea what's going to happen, then I strongly recommend any book by John J. Nance, and this one in particular. It certainly does make you think about flying the friendly skies.
Title: Turbulence
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