Angels on My Wings

Book excerpt: Transcon’s flight three seven departed from Los Angeles bound for JFK airport in New York. Sometime after they reached their cruising altitude, the first officer noticed the pressure dropping in the cargo hold below. Neither the captain nor the first officer was aware that a partially filled propane tank had been loaded into the cargo hold and was about to explode. “Mayday, mayday Transcon flight three seven. Rapid decompression, explosion onboard. Descending to one-zero thousand. Clear all traffic below!” These words echoed into the headset of the flight controllers at Lincoln Center and a desperate feeling came over them as they watched flight three seven descend on their radar screen.