What do you think?
Rate this book
Final Destination: Disaster: What Really Happened to Eastern Airlines
Reveals how the crash of Eastern Airlines flight 980 precipitated the controversial sale of the company, and uncovers the behind-the-scenes scheming by the U.S. government that ultimately led to the airline's downfall.
257 pages, Hardcover
First published August 25, 2014
9 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 11, 2018
Many years, I was newly single, unemployed., and broke. My father, a financial wizard, suggested I buy stock in Eastern Airlines because the company had a good reputation and the stock was $8 a share. He had me buy one hundred shares. Two weeks later, the price had doubled so my investment was now worth $1600. I wanted to sell it but he said I should hold on to it. I finally got rid of it for twenty five cents a share. FINAL DESTINATION: DISASTER by George Jehn provides an amazing story of what went so wrong and why.
There are many threads to the story. The suspects include Frank Borman, head of Eastern Airlines, Frank Lorenzo, head of Texas Air Corporation, men who were supposedly working for the Eastern Airlines employees union, and President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush. It includes drug running, the Nicaragua contras, and sabotage.
Eastern Airlines, which was possibly the best airline in the country, dropped from record high earnings to a dangerous low in one quarter. The working personnel loved their jobs and agreed to major cuts in order to save it, not realizing that there was nothing they could do.
The company began cutting back on maintenance and training and sought other ways to make flying Eastern less desirable.
The most telling is the results of the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight #980 in Bolivia in 1985. Once the plane disappeared, the US government agencies responsible for finding the plane, retrieving the black boxes, and searching for survivors took no action until forced to do so and then did so only reluctantly. It waited several months, stating it was impossible to get to the mountain site, until the weather became difficult and provided $600, less than a minimum of financial support necessary, for a team to go to the site. The black boxes and passengers bodies were never found.
George Jehn, eighteen year veteran pilot for Eastern Airlines and representative of the Air Lines Pilot Association, tells all in this amazing book. It documents lies, sabotage, drug running, and coverup and helps us understand what could happen when the people making the decisions have a different goal than their employees and stockholders, have support in the highest levels of government, and will do almost anything, including the deaths of passengers on their aircraft, to get what they want.
It is a must read.
FINAL DESTINATION: DISASTER should become a movie.
I received a copy of this book through ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ First Reads.
There are many threads to the story. The suspects include Frank Borman, head of Eastern Airlines, Frank Lorenzo, head of Texas Air Corporation, men who were supposedly working for the Eastern Airlines employees union, and President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush. It includes drug running, the Nicaragua contras, and sabotage.
Eastern Airlines, which was possibly the best airline in the country, dropped from record high earnings to a dangerous low in one quarter. The working personnel loved their jobs and agreed to major cuts in order to save it, not realizing that there was nothing they could do.
The company began cutting back on maintenance and training and sought other ways to make flying Eastern less desirable.
The most telling is the results of the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight #980 in Bolivia in 1985. Once the plane disappeared, the US government agencies responsible for finding the plane, retrieving the black boxes, and searching for survivors took no action until forced to do so and then did so only reluctantly. It waited several months, stating it was impossible to get to the mountain site, until the weather became difficult and provided $600, less than a minimum of financial support necessary, for a team to go to the site. The black boxes and passengers bodies were never found.
George Jehn, eighteen year veteran pilot for Eastern Airlines and representative of the Air Lines Pilot Association, tells all in this amazing book. It documents lies, sabotage, drug running, and coverup and helps us understand what could happen when the people making the decisions have a different goal than their employees and stockholders, have support in the highest levels of government, and will do almost anything, including the deaths of passengers on their aircraft, to get what they want.
It is a must read.
FINAL DESTINATION: DISASTER should become a movie.
I received a copy of this book through ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ First Reads.
April 29, 2016
Not really what i thought
Based on the summaries I read about they book, I expected it to be a fairly rigorous examination of the reasons, chiefly economic I supposed, of the demise of Eastern airlines, which was one of the preeminent airlines in existence when I was growing up. Not the case. Its more of an exercise in speculation by an eastern pilot who has a very specific point of view. The book's focus is really on the crash of an eastern jet in the Andes which the author believes was the key reason for the airline's sale and subsequent demise. I was not convinced. Also, way too much pilot jargon. Not a keeper.
Based on the summaries I read about they book, I expected it to be a fairly rigorous examination of the reasons, chiefly economic I supposed, of the demise of Eastern airlines, which was one of the preeminent airlines in existence when I was growing up. Not the case. Its more of an exercise in speculation by an eastern pilot who has a very specific point of view. The book's focus is really on the crash of an eastern jet in the Andes which the author believes was the key reason for the airline's sale and subsequent demise. I was not convinced. Also, way too much pilot jargon. Not a keeper.
June 12, 2017
The introductory chapters on corporate espionage were entertaining and enlightening, but the second half of the book, with its heavy emphasis on government conspiracy were less engaging. I began to feel the author was repeating himself too frequently, and the pace dragged. He might be right in his assertions, but that doesn't make it a great read.
May 14, 2022
I was hoping to read a business story about the rise and fall of Eastern Airlines but this was a union-based story that was hard to follow. Some sloppy editing did not help. The author has or had a major role in airline pilot unions and has a major obsession about an Eastern Airlines crash in South America that was never adequately investigated.
The book was hard to read because of all the names of people thrown around and all the conspiracies that seemed to be simultaneously taking place. For each one, the author puts many names and questions into the mix and it was confusing and overwhelming try to understand what was going on. So many conspiracies were raised but there was so much innuendo raised that after a while, it got tiring.
The book was too much of a pro-union story of being the only entity that could save Eastern and cure all other ills of the aviation industry. I'm still not sure what went on with the eventual fate of Eastern Airlines.
The book was hard to read because of all the names of people thrown around and all the conspiracies that seemed to be simultaneously taking place. For each one, the author puts many names and questions into the mix and it was confusing and overwhelming try to understand what was going on. So many conspiracies were raised but there was so much innuendo raised that after a while, it got tiring.
The book was too much of a pro-union story of being the only entity that could save Eastern and cure all other ills of the aviation industry. I'm still not sure what went on with the eventual fate of Eastern Airlines.
February 2, 2022
Thought provoking!
As an Eastern Air Lines pilot of almost 21 years I have given lots of hours of thought what really caused the demise of my beloved airline and the termination of my commercial piloting career. Until I read this account I too had the false notion the prime reason was the IAM Union. Now I believe it much more sinister. I, before reading this book, harbored a dim view of Federal Government Agencies, and politicians elected legally, or otherwise. Now my view hasn’t altered, but makes me think myself naive believing a few might be slightly honest. There is a one-term president deceased now that I personally hold responsible for the final nails driven into Eastern’s coffin. I proudly cast my vote for Ross Perot to help assure his defeat.
As an Eastern Air Lines pilot of almost 21 years I have given lots of hours of thought what really caused the demise of my beloved airline and the termination of my commercial piloting career. Until I read this account I too had the false notion the prime reason was the IAM Union. Now I believe it much more sinister. I, before reading this book, harbored a dim view of Federal Government Agencies, and politicians elected legally, or otherwise. Now my view hasn’t altered, but makes me think myself naive believing a few might be slightly honest. There is a one-term president deceased now that I personally hold responsible for the final nails driven into Eastern’s coffin. I proudly cast my vote for Ross Perot to help assure his defeat.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.