Fly by Wire
By William Langewiesche
- Release Date: 2009-11-10
- Genre: U.S. History
Description
On January 15, 2009, a US Airways Airbus A320 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport in New York when a flock of Canada geese collided with it, destroying both of its engines. Over the next three minutes, the plane's pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, managed to glide it to a safe landing in the Hudson River. It was an instant media sensation, the "Miracle on the Hudson," and Captain Sully was the hero. But how much of the success of this dramatic landing can actually be credited to the genius of the pilot? To what extent is the "miracle" on the Hudson the result of extraordinary—but not widely known, and in some cases quite controversial—advances in aviation and computer technology over the past twenty years?
In Fly by Wire, one of America's greatest journalists takes us on a strange and unexpected journey into the fascinating world of advanced aviation. From the testing laboratories where engineers struggle to build a jet engine that can systematically resist bird attacks, through the creation of the A320 in France, to the political and social forces that have sought to minimize the impact of the revolutionary fly-by-wire technology, William Langewiesche assembles the untold stories necessary to truly understand the
"miracle" on the Hudson, and makes us question our assumptions about human beings in
modern aviation.
Reviews
Excellent, a heart pounding read!
5By TrebleT'sVery well written account of the Miracle on the Hudson. Tons of interesting facts about the Airbus fly by wire system. As a professional pilot, I was impressed by the author's style and technical accuracy. I very much enjoyed this book and it was an encouragement to me professionally. Yes, this book praises the Airbus technology for its performance (as well as the hero pilots) but I thought it was well done. After reading this book, I have much more respect for Airbus aircraft. I plan to read other works by Mr. Langewiesche.What the end
5By AllanazThe best review of a book is when you've read the last page and you are truly bummed that you have finished the book. When I read on my iPad I do not get a feeling of getting to the end of the book. The book become less about pages and more about story. Fly by wire, I want more....Excellent!
5By AWC IkeTechnically accurate and gripping account of the incident along with supporting stories surrounding the facts of other incidents where the pilots were either not as lucky or arrogant to the point of causing planes and innocent passenger fatalities as well as their own.
