Early Aviation Disasters

Overview

A prequel to the successful Aviation Disasters, covering crashes prior to 1950

David Gero's highly successful Aviation Disasters, which reviewed major airliner crashes dating back to 1950, finally has an accompanying volume. Using the same format as its predecessor, Early Aviation Disasters examines major aviation catastrophes that occurred in the early days of commercial flight, prior to 1950. Long before the days of wide-bodied jets and supersonic travel, two, three and four-engine airplanes, flying boats and airships made their way over land and sea, connecting cities, countries and continents in what was then a revolutionary mode of transport. Some of these flights ended in tragedy, and these catastrophes are thoroughly reviewed in this illustrated book. The book recounts the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, the disastrous mid-air collision between an airliner and a fighter aircraft over Washington DC in 1949 and the loss of the British Star Tiger and Star Ariel transports, less than one year apart. Many other less well-known and even forgotten disasters were also covered in this fascinating new volume.

Author Biography

David Gero has more than 30 years experience as a writer and magazine editor and has worked in television production for more than 25 years. He has long been interested in the subject of aircraft accidents, collecting information since the age of 13. He appeared as a consultant in a Discovery Channel programme on aviation accidents and has previously written the successful Aviation Disasters: The World's Major Commercial Airliner Crashes Since 1950, which has been printed in five editions since 1993, and Military Aviation Disasters and Flights of Terror.