HISTORIC AIR DISASTERS by Andre Launay. Hard-back with dust covers, 171 pages and a selection of black and white photos. Published by Ian Allan Ltd, United Kingdom in 1967.

This book is comprised of case histories of famous and lesser known air disasters, with particular interest in aviation safety.

“Even with only one mishap of each type to describe, a volume on aircraft accidents would be many times larger than this book. The author has therefore necessarily had to restrict his choice to the most famous accidents, but some lesser known are also included to give a balance. The full range is covered, from Pilatre de Rozier’s balloon bursting into flames on the Channel crossing in 1785 to the recent Ljubljana holiday crash.

No torch is carried for any airlines, but air travel is not deprecated on safety grounds: the reader must decide for himself how safe air travel is from the story of strange and unaccountable accidents, sabotage, instrument failures, weather and human error – and compare with the millions of miles passengers have flown in complete safety.”

This historic book is in excellent condition and comes from a smoke-free home where it has lived for the last 55 years.