Flights of Terror: Aerial Hijack and Sabotage Since 1930 by David Gero lands on the shelves of my shop.
Patrick Stephens Limited, 1997, Hardback in dust wrapper.
Jacket illustration: A BOAC Super VC-10 and a TWA Boeing 707 are blown up in the Jordanian desert, along with a Swissair DC-8 that is hidden by the flames and smoke. Illustrated by way of: Black & White Photographs; Diagrams; Maps;
From the cover: The mere thought of a ticking bomb hidden in a suitcase, or a gun- or knife-wielding assailant commandeering a commercial flight is enough to send a chill down the back of the most seasoned air traveller. Yet terrorism, like mid-air collisions, adverse weather conditions, and mechanical failure, remains a real threat to the safety of air travel. Here David Gero, author of the best-selling Aviation Disasters, chronicles the various types of hostile actions committed against commercial aircraft from the earliest days of air travel, in the first reference book to cover this subject comprehensively.
The hundreds of events described are presented in logical categories, including the early years of aerial terrorism, acts spawned in the Middle East, the shooting down of commercial transports (which have not necessarily been by terrorists but sometimes by democratic government forces) and the many different varieties of hijacking, from those that took flights to Cuba to the unique cases that involved skyjackers parachuting from aircraft.
Although many acts of aerial terrorism have gone virtually unmentioned by the media, other, more dramatic events have hit the headlines and become major news stories. Among these, perhaps the best known is that at Lockerbie when a Pan American Boeing 747 was brought down over Scotland by a terrorist bomb, killing 270 persons. A more recent highly publicised incident, also resulting in great loss of life, was the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 which crashed in the sea off the Comoro Islands when the hijackers forced the crew to fly beyond the aircrafts fuel range.
Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. Price Clipped.
Black boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. 172 pages. Index. 10″ x 7¾”.
Of course, if you don’t like this one there are plenty more available here!
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