Into the Abyss
How a Deadly Plane Crash Changed the Lives of a Pilot, a Politician, a Criminal and a Cop
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4.3 • 75 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
On an icy night in October 1984, a Piper Navajo commuter plane carrying 9 passengers crashed in the remote wilderness of northern Alberta, killing 6 people. Four survived: the rookie pilot, a prominent politician, a cop, and the criminal he was escorting to face charges. Despite the poor weather, Erik Vogel, the 24-year-old pilot, was under intense pressure to fly--a situation not uncommon to pilots working for small airlines. Overworked and exhausted, he feared losing his job if he refused to fly. Larry Shaben, the author's father and Canada's first Muslim Cabinet Minister, was commuting home after a busy week at the Alberta Legislature. After Paul Archambault, a drifter wanted on an outstanding warrant, boarded the plane, rookie Constable Scott Deschamps decided, against RCMP regulations, to remove his handcuffs--a decision that profoundly impacted the men's survival. As they fought through the night to stay alive, the dividing lines of power, wealth and status were erased and each man was forced to confront the precious and limited nature of his existence. The survivors forged unlikely friendships and through them found strength and courage to rebuild their lives. Into the Abyss is a powerful narrative that combines in-depth reporting with sympathy and grace to explore how a single, tragic event can upset our assumptions and become a catalyst for transformation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this electrifying history, Canadian journalist Shaben chronicles a devastating plane crash and its ramifications on the four survivors. On an icy night in October 1984, a small commuter plane crashed in the Canadian wilderness. One of the four survivors was the author's father, Larry Shaben, the country's first Muslim cabinet minister. The others included the young pilot, a police officer, and the drifter he was escorting to face criminal charges. Larry's physical wounds healed within two months. But he was a different person, more subdued and "quietly haunted," writes Shaben. Over the ensuing years, her curiosity about the event grew. "The crash's impact on my father, and the unlikely friendships that formed between the survivors lodged the event firmly in my psyche," she writes. Shaben skillfully navigates the intricate language of flying for those not familiar with its jargon. She delves into the darker side of the Canadian commuter airline industry and its sorry record of accidents and unreliable equipment. She also adroitly recounts how the survivors cooperated on the night of the crash, in spite of their differences. Though each man incurred emotional scars as a result of the incident, the bonds formed between the survivors during the ordeal lasted for decades. Shaben's riveting narrative is filled with heart and the story is well told.
Customer Reviews
Into the Abyss
This book is written in a way which is concise, easy to understand and keeps the reader abreast of events as they happened, chronologically, which makes for an easy read. Sadly, the book brings to light a few negative facts about human nature, that appear far too often, all around us. Firstly, the fact that there cannot simply be an accident anymore-if there is, somebody is to blame, somebody has to be wrung through the mill-somebody has to pay. I was astounded by a survivor of this unfortunate accident having the unmitigated gall to launch a lawsuit, to serve his financial needs while he fulfilled his "bucket list". What a turkey!
Secondly, there just doesn't seem to be enough support for those unfortunate people who try to supply a service for the better good of society-they are never commended when their service is outstanding, especially in a winters, desolate, harsh vastly unexplored wasteland. There is however legions of "holier than thou" antagonists who gloat in their ability to point out everything that is WRONG when things don't go according to plan.
Shaben did a very good job of vividly re-creating the tension and grief related to that cold Northern Alberta night, when flight 402 accidentally terminated. It will live on as a testament to the hard work, co-operation and determination of a few, but unfortunately will bring to light, through time, some of the aforementioned negative quirks of human nature.
Into the Abyss
I loved this book! It was compelling and beautifully written - I couldn't put it down. The author has taken a story I knew only from newspaper headlines and crafted a compassionate, gripping, thorough and seamless biography of the both the event, the circumstances leading up to it, and the lives of the four survivors both before and after. This book left me very grateful to the author for having written it and left me wanting more!
Into the Abyss
What a waste of 19.99. Didn’t even finish the book, bored me to death.