Title: Unsafe At Any Altitude
Author: Richard Francis Schaden
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9781664167032
Pages: 252
Genre: Biography, Autobiography, General Law, Aviation
Reviewed by: Lily Amanda
Hollywood Book Reviews
Unsafe At Any Altitude is a brilliant text written by Richard Francis Schaden. The book takes a deep dive through Richard’s career growth from an aeronautical engineer at Boeing Airlines, airplane pilot, to becoming a lawyer championing for safer travel in the skies.
As a young engineer working for Boeing, Richard always longed to take to the skies instead of being confined in an office. An opportunity came along and before he knew it, he was working at the Boeing flight test department, a highly coveted job. Gradually, he realized that sound engineering always came behind marketing and economics which he considered unethical.
Even as he moved up the ladder in engineering flight tests, it was difficult for him to affect aircraft design. He further realized that many planes lacked obvious and basic safety features. Richard consequently goes to law school which saw him represent some of the rioters in the infamous Detroit race riots in 1967, before passing the bar exam.
This began Richards’s career as a lawyer. As the intended audience combs through the chapters, they careen through Richard’s engineering and law career as he details his experiences most intricately. I applaud the author for his continued advocacy for aviation safety on the frontline and the cockpit. Further, the book examines the causes of airplane accidents in the past as well as some of the measures that need to be put in place to improve aviation safety. Some of the views the author shares with readers include the need to do physical flight testing rather than flight simulation as the former is full-scale and comprehensive.
I found this book to not only be entertaining but informative as well. It serves as an eye-opener in the civil aviation field by providing important analysis on aviation safety. The chapters are well written and offer important lessons that the Federal Aviation Administration personnel would find worthwhile.
Unsafe At Any Altitude by Richard Francis Schaden is a carefully written and professionally edited book. It explores the subject of aerodynamics with thorough ingenuity. It is a book which deserves a place on the shelves of aviation professionals and any reader interested in learning about civil aviation.