Fly by Wire

February 22, 2010
Much more than a straight retelling of U.S. Airways flight 1549's miraculous landing on the Hudson, Langewiesche's latest uses the story—and the heroism of pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles—as a lens through which to examine the advances in and flaws of modern air travel and piloting. David Drummond delivers a solid reading, relaying the detail-laden text—the backstories of the pilots, the technical information, the gripping blow-by-blow—with clarity and careful pacing. A subtle performance that enhances and never overwhelms the material. A Farrar, Straus & Giroux hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 9).

Flying "by wire" refers to relegating the control of an airplane to its computers. Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's successful landing of an Airbus on the Hudson River in January of 2009 after losing all engine thrust showcases the electronic safety built into new passenger planes. Suspense waxes and wanes as the story of that brief flight becomes interrupted by detours to related information. With inflection and timing, narrator David Drummond turns the playbacks of other less fortunate flights into thrilling nail-biters. His delivery of the dialogue spoken during government investigations and between crew members during critical moments imparts a clear separation of speakers. At first, Drummond seems as unadorned and American as they come, but he takes some hilarious liberties with British accents in his renditions of background episodes. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine