PopSyndicate.com

It is the one thing that terrifies even the most seasoned air traveler: A plane crash. The engines could malfunction. The fuel could get too low to carry the load. The plane could be hijacked or worse, bombed midair.

Everyone remembers 9-11, or the water crashes that killed people like John F. Kennedy, Jr., or the hundreds on EgyptAir Flight 990.  Those events feed on that fear. But few remember the fear and sheer grit it took for 57 passengers and the six-man flight crew of ALM Flight 980 to survive after ditching the plane in shark-infested waters nearly 40 years ago.

The heroic plight of these survivors is told in 35 Miles From Shore, the griping first novel from pilot Emilio Corsetti III. Corsetti explains that it was important to tell this tale because AML Flight 980 was the first –and only – commercial jet ditched in open water.  Ditching a plane means the pilot conducts a controlled landing on water when the aircraft is in distress – like running out of fuel or engine failure. There is at least a chance of survival through this method. Crash landings are the most common – and most memorable – generally with no survivors. (See Wikipedia for more details)

This week, critic Angela Wilson chats it up with the professional pilot and freelance writer about the book, life, and what’s next for him.