Flight 232 A story of disaster and survival

Gonzales (Surviving Survival, 2012) revisits the crash of United Flight 232 in this gripping narrative that includes numerous survivor accounts as well as insight from those in the Sioux City control tower, rescue personnel, and specialists who worked for months to determine the cause. In particular, the survivor stories recounted here in painstaking detail remain no less riveting now than when they were reported 25 years ago. Through numerous interviews and research, Gonzales places readers as close to the accident as possible, from the cockpit to the main cabin, revealing the catastrophic failure of the single part that destroyed not only one of the three engines but, more critically, the entire hydraulic system. There are heroes aplenty, from those who did their jobs beyond all measure to the many who lent a lifesaving hand at risk of their own survival. Emotion rather than thoughtful post-crash analysis carries the book, but Gonzales does make clear how the lack of seat requirements for infants and children, which remains the same today, cost lives. A powerful, unforgettable look at a devastating accident.--Mondor, Colleen Copyright 2010 Booklist

Journalist Gonzalez (Deep Survival) finds grace amid tragedy in his searing study of the fiery 1989 crash of United Airlines Flight 232: 184 of the 296 passengers survived, and the drama unfolded over 44 nerve-wracking minutes while the pilots wrestled the plane towards an airport after an explosion destroyed the hydraulic controls, a catastrophe that should have rendered the huge DC-10 jet unflyable. Working from extensive interviews with survivors and rescue workers, Gonzalez presents a engrossing, cinematic account of the crash and the ordeal that preceded it as crew and passengers prepared themselves for almost certain death. There's heroism here, and dumbfounding twists of fate that allowed the lucky to step straight from flame and carnage into a sunlit Iowa cornfield with barely a scratch. Along the way, Gonzalez presents an absorbing account of the delicate machinery of flight-and the titanic forces it must withstand-and of the investigation that traced the disaster to a tiny flaw therein. Gonzalez's gripping narrative shows us people at their most vulnerable, and admirable. Photos. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.