Former American Airlines employee Kling (Searching for a Piece of My Soul) recounts her experiences leading an Emergency Response Team —composed of ordinary American Airlines employees from all departments—that reported to Colombia in 1995 after the crash of a passenger jet in the mountains near Cali. Their goal was to help families and the airline cope with the tragedy. Kling's dramatic account takes the reader through the confusing first days after the crash: the shock of the victims' families, the reporters swarming around the airport and posing as family members to get information about the flight, the tension and awkwardness of her conversations with grieving families and the unlikely stories of the four survivors. She eventually forms a friendship with one of the survivors, Mercedes Ramirez, who lost both parents in the crash, and describes Ramirez's slow coming to terms with the tragedy. Kling explains the comprehensive plans that airlines have for such situations, but also offers a critique of the ERT program, which relies on volunteers rather than trained psychologists for grief counseling. Nervous passengers may also appreciate Kling's final chapter of advice about "flying smart," though she admits that survival is ultimately a matter of luck. (On sale Nov. 4)
