Mirroring today's occurrences in fiction It's not frequently we review aviation fiction.

Mirroring today's occurrences in fiction

It's not frequently we review aviation fiction, moreover Fire Flight by John J Nance (Simon & Schuster, $25) is a useful read that blends fact with fiction. each summer, the fires start, and the air tanker pilots report for toll In their other lives, an are commercial pilots, ex-military jock suits with office piece of works As aerial firefighters, they're in for the battle of- and ofttimes for - their lives. Flying just above tree top, between the walls of exploding timber and punishing updrafts, they race into the heart of the nation's fiercest forest fires, bombing them with 1000-gal loads of flame retardant. Between the hellish flight conditions across a fire which can twist and strain an airplane to the point of failure, and the vintage nature of the air tankers themselves - many of them being ancient converted passenger liners - it's hard to imagine a more dangerous job

As a massive fire threatens to wipe public Yellowstone, a series of aerial disasters hint at a conspiracy that reaches to the shadowy halls of Washington.

"One last season," are the words that interrupt the uneasy retirement of veteran fire bomber pilot Clark Maxwell. Disgusted on a corporate mentality that places dollars across safety, Maxwell called it quits four years ago. by and by after, he published a scathing unmask on his former profession - anonymously.

But Maxwell still can't win "the fraternity and the danger of the smoke" not at home of his system. When his olden boss Jerry Stein calls forward his "best captain" to help fight the worst fire in a decade, Maxwell can't resist, and concerns his decision almost immediately.

When his friend Jeff Maze crashes subject to mysterious circumstances - the plane literally falls apart in mid-air - Maxwell have feelings more than grief. Save for a last-minute swap of aircraft, that plane would have been Maxwell's. Was sullied play involved? Was Maxwell, the whistle blower, the intended target? And what about the rumors alleging that Maze, a legendary hot-dog, was moon-lighting for the CIA?

As Maxwell races to unravel the mystery, the fire fighting effort rapidly escalates into full-blown war. A scries of wildfires tend to the same point sweeping through two national parks and toward surrounding towns, prompting evacuations and general hysteria.

In the wake of Maze's death, public sense dictates that all the air tankers be turfed But with the fires burgeoning, no plane can be spared. When pair more accidents, both due to mechanical failures, are averted sole by gutsy flying and teamwork, suspicions among the pilots intensify Are they fighting fires or sabotage, or bodi? Maxwell is determined to reveal the answer before another plane goe down. He's well aware that the nearest air tanker to come apart in the air could be his.

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