Pilot Error: The Anatomy of a Plane Crash

Examines and re-creates the fateful events of an expert pilot’s crash off Cape Cod

Reveals the hidden dangers of flight that challenge even the most skilled pilots

Delivers a gripping narrative that puts the reader in the cockpit of a plane that faces imminent disaster

On Friday, October 9, 1998, Ron Sinzheimer left his downtown Albany law office and drove to the airport. Once there, he loaded a weekend bag, a few household items, and the family dog into the back of his single-engine Grumman Traveler airplane. He took off to join his wife for a weekend at the family vacation home on Cape Cod. The weather report had not been promising, but Sinzheimer, an experienced pilot, had flown this route many times and felt confident that he could make the two-hour flight to Provincetown despite the ominous forecast. He never arrived.

In Pilot Error, Phaedra Hise delivers a brilliant and lucid account of this true story. She follows the Coast Guard’s daring search-and-rescue attempt, draws insight from her own experience as a pilot, analyzes what was uncovered by the National Transportation Safety Board investigation, interviews other pilots who are all too familiar with the hazardous flying conditions off Cape Cod, and talks with friends and family members of the victim. This book reveals how even a well-trained pilot can easily slip into trouble, with one seemingly insignificant mistake leading to another and setting off a deadly chain of events.

Phaedra Hise, as both a pilot and freelance journalist, is in a unique position to tell the story of Ronald Sinzheimer’s fatal flight. She has an instrument rating and has spent years flying along the same routes that Sinzheimer traveled on his last flight. Her articles have appeared in Salon, Forbes, the Boston Herald, Glamour, and several other publications. Hise has also been a staff writer for Inc. Magazine. Her previous books are 301 Great Ideas for Managing Technology and Growing Your Business Online: Small Business Strategies for Working the World Wide Web. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.