Review: Crash Course

Crash Course by Julie Whipple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Heather Henderson.

Wow. This was far more captivating than I was expecting it to be!

It was a 'listen now' on Netgalley that I opted for mostly for lack of audio options. I was curious, but this gripped me immediately and I ended up really enjoying it.

It tells of United Flight 173, bound for Portland, Oregon, on December 28th, 1978. The plane crash-landed in a Portland neighbourhood, killing ten of the 189 on board. The crash had massive repercussions, not just for those involved directly but for aviation safety and cases of corporate vs consumer, among other things.

I do love my true crime, so the first part detailing the crash was fascinating. It was interesting to hear motivations behind decisions and what some of the thought processes were. This book does a great job of blending fact with storytelling, so it's never dry in delivery. The narrator helps bring the story alive with real people in the spotlight, and I did get quite invested in what happened to these people.

What follows the incident is a whole lot of finger-pointing and bureaucratic BS, and it's quite awful to listen to. There was negligence on the part of United Airlines, but as a large corporate entity they were more concerned in throwing money at making the problem go away. It never fails to distress me when I hear these stories of the justice system failing the people it's supposed to protect.

The layout of the book is fantastic - we get the incident, the practical consequences then finish with the personal impacts. It addresses the incident with respect to those involved, but doesn't shy away from calling out the wrongdoing either. It's a well-rounded, carefully researched account.

The narration was fantastic - a lively, easy to listen to voice that communicated the story brilliantly. It was essentially like listening to a crime podcast.

An intriguing, well told account that I'd easily recommend to true crime fans and those who enjoy similar podcasts.

With thanks to Netgalley for an audio ARC

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