I've just received my copy of a first-class new book on the science behind airplane crashes. It's "Beyond the Black Box: the forensics of airplane crashes" by George Bibel (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008; ISBN 10: 0801886317). Bibel is a retired professor of mechanical engineering and explains clearly and authoritatively, with a minimum of technical jargon, why accidents happened they way they did. It's right up to date, including even the Helios B737 and AF358 accidents, though of course it was published before the official report on the latter was released.
Rockhound
