THE AIRMEN WHO WOULD NOT DIE

by John G. Fuller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 21, 1978

The most elaborately shored-up case for life-after-death of the century. . . by a specialist in natural and unnatural disasters (We Almost Lost Detroit, The Ghost of Flight 401). The subject here is the 1930 crash of the great British dirigible R-101, an overweight gargantuan rippling with luxury and too heavy to fly. A passionate aviationist, Captain Raymond Hinchcliffe, and a young millionairess attempt the first east-to-west Atlantic airplane flight and go down in a storm. A Mrs. Earl, visiting the psychic Eileen Garrett, gets a message from Hinchcliffe that he must speak with his wife. Skeptical, Mrs. Hinchcliffe goes to Mrs. Garrett; the captain comes through, tells his wife where his plane went down, which day his insurance will be paid to her, and that he has a prevision of the R-101 going down. Mrs. Hinchcliffe contacts famed paranormalist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who helps her. Further seances warn against R-101's forthcoming flight to India. Doyle dies, while Mrs. H. thrice begs top officer Johnston of the R-101 (a friend of her late husband's) to call off the voyage. He sails in a heavy gale and the R-101 crashes and explodes in France. The very day after the crash, ghost-busting psychic investigator Harry Price goes to Mrs. Garrett for a seance with the late Doyle and instead the impassioned spirit of Captain Irwin of the R-101 invades the reading and gives precise technical data about the ship's failure. Aviation expert Major Villlers is brought in for several visits and more tech reports from three dead flight officers, information that's far beyond Mrs. Garrett's scope (she can't even drive a car). The information, says Father, checks out. . . . A fabulous read, and quite likely to stand as a psychic classic.

Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION