Southern Storm Audiobook By Samme Chittum cover art

Southern Storm

The Tragedy of Flight 242

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Southern Storm

By: Samme Chittum
Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
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On the afternoon of April 4, 1977, Georgia housewife Sadie Burkhalter Hurst looked out her front door to see a frantic stranger running toward her, his clothes ablaze, and, behind him, the mangled fuselage of a passenger plane that had just crashed in her yard.

The plane, a Southern Airways DC-9-31, had been carrying 81 passengers and four crew members en route to Atlanta when it entered a massive thunderstorm cell that turned into a dangerous cocktail of rain, hail, and lightning. Forced down onto a highway, the plane cut a swath of devastation through the small town of New Hope, breaking apart and killing bystanders on the ground before coming to rest in Hurst's front yard.

Ultimately, only 22 people survived, and urgent questions immediately arose: What caused the pilots to fly into the storm instead of away from it? Could the crash have been prevented? Southern Storm addresses these issues and more, offering an insider's look at this disaster and the systemic overhauls that followed it.

©2018 Samme Chittum (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC Aviation Engineering Transportation
All stars
Most relevant  
a bit repetitive, but does well fleshing out all the individuals involved in the crash

character driven

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A well written and comprehensive account of a tragic aviation disaster. There are some grim descriptions of injuries but those serve to underscore what the first responders, nearby residents, survivors and their families had to work through to cope with the aftermath.

Compelling Story

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An excellent account of detailing the events that took place not only the survivors but those in the surrounding community. The pilots were given a lot to process in a short amount of time with little to no assistance from the air traffic controller. The author captures the unforeseen weakening and breaks in the "safety chain".

A Good Read

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I found this book hard to put down. Samme is a good writer and I look forward to more of her books. I can not imagine the research that went into compiling this true story. And Keith was a pleasure to listen to. So often a reader can ruin a story. Not Keith. Thanks for a good story and a pleasant one to listen to.

Compelling read.

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This was quite a story! A combination of events led to a tragic occurrence. The best part of any tragic occurrence is the learning that comes from investigations into the event that , hopefully, will lead to preventative measures to keep from a reoccurrence.

Wow!

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I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book. The narrator was exceptional, very well-spoken. This was wonderfully written, I highly recommend it.

Wonderful book

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This book is centered on the stories of the survivors, particularly those in the town where the plane crash landed. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I was more interested in the aircraft and the causes of the accident.

Focused on survivors’ stories

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I was hoping for a thorough analysis of the factors that led to the crash, the investigation, and changes that were made afterward. While that was touched on, the focus is on the experiences of those involved in the accident.

guess the heading isn't optional?

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