Les Abend offers his opinion and explanation of the United flight 328 incident on Saturday, February 20, 2021. Abend is a retired American Airlines pilot, writer for Flying Magazine, and CNN aviation analyst. He is also the author of PAPER WINGS, an aviation thriller. "For those who haven't had the opportunity to follow this past weekend's dramatic story, United Flight 328, a Boeing 777-200, departed Denver Airport bound for Honolulu at 1:04 … [Read more...]
Author Dom Stasi On Being “Inside The Box”
I’ve been a junkie for aviation-based literature almost from the time I’d first learned to read. Through the years I would devour the works of such visionaries as Antione de Saint-Exupery, Beryl Markham, Anne Morrow Lindberg, and Ernest K. Gann. Their words never failed to keep me up nights as their intrepid, hero-pilots—real and imagined—rose from the pages to struggle alone (always alone it seemed) against whatever mankind and nature could put … [Read more...]
Dom Stasi On Apollo And Aviation
Aviation has always been a passion of mine. Given that it can also be a world rich in mystery and adventure, it provided the template for my debut novel, THE STRAIT. Given this lifelong affair with flight, it’s only natural when looking back, that my first real job would have been with an outfit like Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. I’d been out of the Air Force barely a week when I found myself being escorted to the aerospace … [Read more...]
New York Times Bestselling Author John J. Nance Takes Readers for Another Wild Ride in 16 SOULS
On takeoff from Denver during a winter blizzard, an airliner piloted by veteran Captain Marty Mitchell overruns a commuter plane from behind. Bizarrely, the fuselage of the smaller aircraft is tenuously wedged onto the huge right wing of his Boeing 757, leading Mitchell to an impossible life-or-death choice. Mitchell’s decision will land the former military pilot in the cross-hairs of a viciously ambitious district attorney determined to send … [Read more...]
PAPER WING’s Les Abend On How He Became A Pilot and Writer
Even though Mom would like me to sing my own praises, it’s not my style. But I’m often asked about the opportunities I’ve been fortunate enough to be afforded. Here’s one of my scripted responses for “How did you get that gig?” Answer: “I am grateful for low standards.” Although my reply might appear glib, it’s genuine. I am surrounded by folks who appear eminently more qualified than me in both the professional pilot vocation and the writing … [Read more...]
Les Abend On His Characters For PAPER WINGS
The old adage of, “Write about what you know,” is certainly applicable to “Paper Wings.” But beyond the story itself, the adage is also applicable to the characters. As is true for most, life experience dictates our perception of people and their personalities. In that regard, many of the characters are a composite of the personalities I have been fortunate... and unfortunate... enough to encounter. Novels that I enjoy reading include a … [Read more...]
EXPLAINING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLT 37O: The Most Incredible Aviation Mystery of the 21st Century
It’s hard to believe that three years has passed since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared. The Boeing 777-200, carrying 239 passengers and crew, literally vanished from radar screens in the early morning hours of March 8, 2014. But just how did one of the world’s most sophisticated airliners become invisible—never to be seen again? There are a lot of theories out there about what happened to MH 370, some of them reasonable, others just … [Read more...]
Readers Need To Fasten Their Seatbelts For Les Abend’s Aviation Thriller PAPER WINGS
When a boat and its grisly cargo are found adrift off Fort Lauderdale ... ... the investigation leads to more than “just” murder. In fact, the evidence points to a connection of an in-flight emergency that resulted in passenger fatalities and forced a diversion of Patriot Airlines Flight 63 to Bermunda. As the accidents investigation chairman of the pilots’ union, Captain Hart Lindy will find himself reluctantly drawn into the National … [Read more...]
PAPER WINGS’ Les Abend Discusses How His Passion For Flying Has Helped His Writing
As much as I’d like to believe that people find my day job fascinating, their interest may extend only as far as a visit to the cockpit. Reading a novel involving my profession may not be high on the entertainment list. I get it. The technical nature of flying airplanes might glaze over some eyes... well, unless you’re talking Top Gun stuff while listening to Kenny Loggins perform “Danger zone.” Sorry, but most times flying airplanes doesn’t … [Read more...]
LOCKOUT’s John Nance Discusses The Decline In Future Pilots
ME FLY? IS THERE AN APP FOR THAT? Most of us who remain in love with flying in any reasonable form have to be feeling a bit helpless these days regarding the march of articles and reports (including a few studies) documenting declining enrollment in basic pilot training courses. It goes way beyond that, however, because when you peruse the figures, you see that those in their twenties and early thirties are losing interest, whether because of … [Read more...]
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