The Captains' Airline: Pushing Back From The Brink

As someone who has a great fear of flying when I saw the request to review Art Samson's book, The Captains' Airline:Pushing Back From The Brink I knew I would immediately enjoy this one. Art writes a fictional story based on actual events that really happened. He immediately takes you into the cockpit to see what it's like from both a pilot's perspective from also from the flight crew and even passengers. The best part of this book for me is that I didn't have to leave the ground to enjoy it. Now I have a completely different perspective into what really goes on during commercial airline flights and hopefully will provide a sense of peace whenever I chance a trip on a plane in my near future.

As Art opens the novel with a perspective in what can happen whenever human error is involved in some of the greatest tragedies to occur with the sinking of the Titanic along with the latest plane crash involving Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger with United Airways Flight 1549 that landed safely in the Hudson River mostly in part to the experience of the flight team working together. "In fact if you consider the statistics lately, as of November 2011 there have been no loss of life on a major U.S. carrier in nearly ten years because of the basic principles of effective human interaction and team dynamics - known in the industry as crew resource management or CRM. These are the key ingredients in maneuvering our technological marvels safely through the skies. Effective problem solving occurs when leaders elicit information and expertise from every team member. Greater success does not result from a new technological gadget, a more detailed operating manual, or an arbitrary government mandate, as previously imagined. It is all about the team." (pg 3). Art does an exceptional job at articulating this perfectly as he combines the historically accurate accounts of many accidents and hair-raising incidents with a tale of transformation within one fictional airline.

Through the fictional account involving an airline company called Omega who is undergoing some accidents and near misses that are making the airline less than profitable, Art walks us through the typical flight of what happens when weather plays a factor in trying to land a large commercial plane. Using all the typical dialogue that would be found between the flight crew, he offers readers a chance to get a true bird's eye view of what goes on. How some pilots think that they are the final word in the cockpit and how simple mistakes can be avoid by better communication with not only the cockpit crew, flight crew and even ground operations. He also shows how persuasive some of the aircraft companies can be in making sure that no matter what happens resulting in failure of the planes, that they are kept looking like the good guys even when it comes to mechanical failure at times.

I received The Captains' Airline: Pushing Back From The Brink by Art Samson compliments of the author himself and Bostick Communications for my honest review. I was cringing at times even though this was a fictional based story involving some historical incidents from 1988 to current and often found myself remembering similar stories involving airlines in regards to the facts. In one particular incident the airlines is having issues with the rudder issues sticking and immediately I remembered that hitting the news until the airline recalled all their planes to check for the issue. Makes you wonder how long they knew about these things before the manufacturer and airline got involved to help protect passenger safety. If you love books about airline travel and what really goes on behind the scenes, then like me, I know you'll really enjoy this one. In my opinion, I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars.

For more information about The Captains' Airline, Art Samson and where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the link below:

The Captains' Airline by Art Samson

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1479342823
• ISBN-13: 978-1479342822
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches