Synopsis

Much as Eric SchollsbergsFast Food Nationmade people think about the way we eat,this provocative memoir and expos challenges readers to question why, given its long history ofcover-ups and systemic safety gaps, we continue to trust the aviation industry.On a stormy late May morning in 2008, TACA Airlines Flight 390 crashes at one of the most dangerous airports in the world, Hondurass Toncontin International Airport. Five people die in the crashamong them Rossana DAntonios brother, pilot Cesare DAntonio. Suspecting Cesare will be made a scapegoat for the accident, as so often happens to pilots, Rossana decides to leverage her decades of experience as an engineer and set out in search of the truth. Part memoir, part expos, 26 Seconds interweaves Rossanas research regarding other parallel accidents with her own story. Six months after the TACA crash, Captain Sully Sullenberger lands his plane on the Hudson River. Although authorities call his landing a miracle, they also blame him for its necessity. One year after the TACA 390 tragedy, Air France 447 falls from the sky. Again, pilot error. As Rossana digs deeper, she exposes a culture that is too quick to conclude pilot error and an industry that experiences systemic weaknesses, chooses profits over safety, lies to its customers, and is willing to risk lives to get its planes back up in the sky. Ultimately, she uncovers the smoking gun shes been looking forrevealing the truth about TACA 390, exposing aviation cover-ups, and challenging us all to question the very systems weve been told we can trust with our lives.

About The Author

Rossana DAntoniois a licensed engineer with expertise in infrastructure design and emergency management and a strong advocate for infrastructure investments, including the Federal Aviation Authority Reauthorization. Shaped by her Italian and Salvadoran parents, DAntonio is deeply committed to family and understands the value of creating an environment in which everyone feels safe and protected. She finds peace in Malibu, California, where she resides with her husband, Freddie, and puppy, Luna.

This is a standard paperback/soft cover version.