Adak

"In the great tradition of tales of men against the sea, this story offers a compelling look at courage and commitment in the face of certain tragedy. It is a powerful blend of human drama and real-life naval operations, but unlike most books in the genre, its heroes are airmen not seamen, and most survive. The focus of the story is a P-3 Orion operating from a U.S. naval base in Alaska and flying a sensitive mission in the north Pacific on 26 October 1978. The storyteller is a former naval aviator who flew the same aircraft on the same mission from the same airfield. Andrew Jampoler takes readers into the cockpit of the turboprop as a propeller malfunction turns into an engine fire, eventually forcing the pilot, Jerry Grigsby, to ditch the plane into the empty, mountainous seas off the Aleutian Islands. His fourteen crew members, strapped in their seats, expect the worst - and get it. The aircraft goes down in just ninety seconds, taking one of the three rafts with it. A second raft, terribly overcrowded, soon begins to leak." "The flight crew's desperate battle to survive is told with the authority, drama, and sensitivity that only someone with the author's background can provide. Published on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ordeal as a tribute to those lost, his account draws on interviews with survivors, searchers, and even the captain of the Soviet fishing trawler that saved the living and recovered the bodies of the dead. Recordings of radio communications, messages in the files of the state and defense departments, and the patrol squadron's own investigation further enhance the narrative. Everyone who likes survival epics and enjoys reading sea and air adventures will be captivated by this engrossing true story."--BOOK JACKET.