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Terrorism is a real threat to aviation. The thought of a ticking bomb hidden in a suitcase, or a gun or knife-wielding assailant commandeering a commercial flight, is enough to scare even the most seasoned traveller.
Since the first edition of Flights of Terror this ground breaking book was published in 1997, much new evidence has come to light on a number of hijackings described, and more have taken place since. On 11 September 2001, two wide-bodied commercial jets, laden with fuel, passengers and freight, hurtle at high speed towards two of the tallest buildings in the world. This might only have been considered a plot in a Hollywood film, until that one day, when aerial hijacking was transformed from a nuisance, marked by occasional tragedy, to a wartime event. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the attacks in New York City and Washington, DC, while through the heroic actions of passengers a fourth aircraft was brought down in the Pennsylvania countryside before reaching its intended target.
This second edition of Flights of Terror not only describes in detail the events of that terrible day but also includes many other acts of aerial terrorism that have occurred since the first edition was published, and also updates previous accounts where new information has become available. It presents some of the most dramatic pictures of their kind and a brand-new colour section.
Hundreds of other incidents are discussed, many of which ended harmlessly, but some in tragedy, such as the crash of the commandeered Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 in the Indian Ocean, which, though not as serious as the attacks of 11 September, resulted in the highest passenger death toll aboard a single hijacked aircraft. Also described are the many cases of aerial sabotage that have occurred throughout the history of commercial aviation, the most infamous of these being the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland four days before Christmas in 1988, and the worst - in terms of loss of life - being the destruction of an Air-India Boeing 747 over the Atlantic Ocean in 1985.
David Gero, a television director as well as author of the best-selling Aviation Disasters, has been collecting reports on air disasters since the age of 13, and has gathered information on literally thousands of such incidents of all kinds. He shares much of this information on both aircraft accidents and crimes aimed at commercial aviation in his books. He lives and works in Southern California.
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Review copies available
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