Sound of Impact

The initial accident report and then this book brought back the realization of how little real communication there was between the FAA and the pilot community. In the fall of 73 I was an instrument student living in Marin County, just across the bay from San Francisco and flying out of the east bay airport. It was a dark, wet night with visibility limited to the dim wingtip lights illuminating alternating snow and rain as we started our late night descent out of 7,000 feet for Oakland. Although the weather was ugly I was comfortable with an old freight dog, J Smith my instructor in the right seat and warmer weather below. The voice of Bay Approach instructed us to turn left to a new heading to intercept the localizer, followed by cleared ILS Runway 27 approach Oakland. We were a long way out but cleared the approach so I started down. Both of us knew we were well clear of the terrain. A few minutes later Smith yawned, poked me in the shoulderm and announced that I had just killed my family. Over a beer he mentioned that this was one of the geatest areas of misunderstanding between pilots and controllers and that our controller, like those across the country had a very different understanding of what was going to happen. I was stunned as only a few nights earlier one of his younger instructors had yelled at me that cleared for the approach DID include a clearnace to descend. Sound of Impact picks up the same story but with two pilots flying a strange approach into an alternate airport in a raging storm with fatal consequences for a planeload of pax. The author traces the chain of errors on both sides of the radio that lead to this and other crashes. As a result of the accident report and perhaps this book training and procedures have changed. When pilots are cleared for an approach they are now given an assigned altitude until they are on a published approach segment for which altitudes are shown on the charts. Highly readable and a great contribution.

The Sound of Impact: The Legacy of Twa Flight 514 is not just like every other airline accident book. This book is touching and tear provoking because of it's chapters with interviews from the victims families. The author felt that the 514 passengers were SOMEONE to SOMEBODY and wanted to remember them. They weren't just another statistic- they had names. He interviewed many family members to get a portrait of these mothers, daughters, fathers & brothers that were taken away. It's a glimpse into their lives the morning of the crash and a snapshot of who they were: the pregnant young wife, the congressmans aide with his wife & baby, the teenage son of divorced parents, the young marine, a prominent dentist & his socialite wife.Of course how this all came to pass and the changes made because of it were covered. It was simply a God awful mistake waiting to happen. The result of a few small things that added up to one tragic accident. If you read accident books and have an investigative interest, this book is a new way to approach the topic. Even though it's been 27 years, the stories read like they could have been yesterday. Or 9/11. I only hope someone takes the initiative to write one just like it about that day too.