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On 4 November 2010, a flight from Singapore to Sydney came within a knife edge of being one of the world's worst air disasters. Shortly after leaving Changi Airport, an explosion shattered Engine 2 of Qantas flight QF32 – an Airbus A380, the largest and most advanced passenger plane ever built. Hundreds of pieces of shrapnel ripped through the wing and fuselage, creating chaos as vital flight systems and back-ups were destroyed or degraded.
In other hands, the plane might have been lost with all 469 people on board, but a supremely experienced flight crew, led by Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny, managed to land the crippled aircraft and safely disembark the passengers after hours of nerve-racking effort.
Tracing Richard's life and career up until that fateful flight, QF32 shows exactly what goes into the making of a top-level airline pilot, and the extraordinary skills and training needed to keep us safe in the air. Fascinating in its detail and vividly compelling in its narrative, QF32 is the riveting, blow-by-blow story of just what happens when things go badly wrong in the air, told by the captain himself.
About the Author
Melbourne born and educated Richard De Crespigny got his first taste of a future flying career as a fourteen year old when his father took his on a tour of the RAAD Academy at Point Cook in Victoria.
In 1975, aged seventeen, he joined the RAAF. One year later, he started flying. During his eleven years with the RAAF, he was seconded as Aide-de-Camp to two Australian Governors-General – Sir Zelman Cowen and Sir Ninian Stephen. Richard remained with the RAAF until 1986 when he joined Qantas.
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 9 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
89%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
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Comments about QF32:
Very interesting read, almost like a focused autobiography.
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Comments about QF32:
more like the captain's biography and family history. The central focus, one would assume, is overall detailed coverage of the events outlining the near fatal aviation disaster.
Disappointingly, this only accounts for a very small portion of the text. The captain (author) leisurely utilizes the first 80 or so pages to describe his distinguished aviation career, family history, his ancenstary and how the surname "champion de crispigny" came to be.
This text is very much so overpowered by a sense of biography...
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Comments about QF32:
I had to order this book immediately after hearing Richard Champion de Crespigny being interviewed by Dr. Norman Swan on ABC Radio's Late Night Live (in Phillip Adams' absence). In it, Richard, the pilot, talks about his formative life experiences which would ultimately see him in control of an aircraft that was barely controllable. His leadership, passion for flying, skills in aviation technology, and, just as importantly, his love and concern for people, are highlighted in this brilliantly written work. This is a gift disguised as a book, in which are contained profound lessons for people of every status - for leaders and aspiring leaders, for all airline staff, for all workers, for the elderly and the young, for tech-geeks, and adrenaline freaks, for parents and their children, for students and educators, economists, business people, psychologists, and the list goes on. Sure, there are pages and pages of what seemed to me highly technical material. However, in reading through this I could understand that the author was trying to make it clear to every reader that we are never going to know everything, but we can stack the odds in our favour by making it a duty to ourselves to learn as much as we can and then to apply that knowledge while coordinating with all professional expertise available. I am grateful to the author and all those associated with this writing venture, as I am grateful to all those who participated in this remarkable story.
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Comments about QF32:
Product is very good and easy to read and share
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This book was delived in double quick time, my husband was over the moon.
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Comments about QF32:
Enjoyed the book so much have lent it to two friends already found it very interesting
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Comments about QF32:
How do I use the product? I use it by reading it.
It's interesting. I am a slow reader and haven't even got to the take-off from Singapore yet, but Richard's family history and his upbringing are of interest, and he has a spicy political story to tell of when he was an ADC to the Governor-General.
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Yes to all 3.
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Comments about QF32:
This is a well written and interesting text which holds the reader's interest even though the outcome is known. Richard's early training as an air force pilot, he explains what this involved, enabled him to prevent a disaster. There are technical details given but not too many to lose the reader. For those wanting more detail,these are included at the finish. Perhaps not the best book to take on a flying holiday.
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Comments about QF32:
Provides readers with insights into the highly complex business of flying modern aircraft, both technical and psychological. Recommended for reading between flights not on board flights!
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Delivery excellent as usual
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Great service and delivery
Displaying reviews 1-9
ISBN: 9781742611174
ISBN-10: 1742611176
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 400
Published: 1st August 2012
Dimensions (cm): 23.4 x 15.6
x 3.0
Weight (kg): 0.576
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