The novel is about the investigation of an airplane disaster by Casey Singleton which will determine the success of a deal with China, but also affects several others like the workers of the airline and the reputation of the company and its financial success. Casey Singleton is a quality assurance executive that is the main investigator in a crisis and does not even know it yet. It all begins with a couple flying to Colorado on board TransPacific Flight 545, and everything seems to be going well when the plane dives all of a sudden. The plane rises again but damage has already been done. The cabin of the air craft is filled with injured people and there are screams and panic. The pilot already issued an emergency alert signal to the ground controllers and put in a request for ambulances and emergency crew.
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Casey is given a team of engineers that are tasked with finding out what exactly went wrong with flight 545. This comes at a bad time because the president is to sign a deal with China which could be bad for Norton, but if the Chinese find out it was a safety issue with the plane, the deal will not go through and Norton will be in some money trouble which is worse. To add on to the pressure, Casey is assigned an assistant by her boss who is supposed to follow her around. Richman her new assistant follows her to LAX to inspect the aircraft and the team of engineers concludes that turbulence was not a factor because of the on board technology.
While the investigators continue to search the plane for clues, Casey and Richman go to hospital to interview the survivors. Both the stewardess and a passenger tell her that the slats may have deployed mid flight although the engineers assure her that it is technically impossible. Casey continues her investigations at the plant and the workers do everything possible to slow her investigation down as it may means loss of jobs. At the same time a television producer gets video recordings from a passenger of the ordeal and forms a news segment that blasts Norton and makes them seem irresponsible having information on the aircraft's design flaws. When, Casey finds a video recording which shows that the flaw was plot error and a malfunctioning system, Maloney the producer, is forced to drop the story and the China sale is saved.
Best part of story, including ending:
I like this story because it shows the way society loves to compromise or take advantage of situations when there is an opportunity for gain.
Best scene in story:
I like the scene at the Saturday Chapter where Casey convinces Maloney, the television producer to experience the simulator to show what happens when the slats are deployed. Maloney becomes quite sick as if she is having a panic attack but there is nothing wrong with the plane simulator. It was ironic that a person claiming to be such a champion of justice like her was so afraid of the circumstances even though there was nothing wrong in the first place.
Opinion about the main character:
I like that the character was able to work under pressure, even if it was from all sides including her boss and Norton as well as the American people.
This is an enveloping story about the struggle to find the truth about a seemingly doomed airliner model/company in peril and the conspiracy and mysteries involved in the search for truth. A very good book, cover to cover.
The review of this Book prepared by Joey Lee
