In the Blink of an Eye

The FBI Investigation of TWA Flight 800

By: Pat Milton

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 mysteriously fell from the sky, claiming the lives of all 230 people aboard. Associated Press reporter Pat Milton offers a rare inside look at the investigation of the unexplained explosion and the experts who struggled to find the truth behind one of America’s most disturbing aviation disasters.

Early in the evening, fishermen off the coast of Long Island, New York watched in astonishment as a commercial plane burst into flames, then plummeted into the ocean. While the country reacted with shock and sorrow, the FBI set in motion an exhaustive search for answers that would last two years.

In the Blink of an Eye takes you through the sequence of events surrounding the tragedy and reveals those most affected by it: rescue workers, investigators, and the victims and their families. Pat Milton, who covered the chilling disaster from day one, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her work. Richard Poe’s thoughtful performance brings you as close to the real cause of the crash as possible.

©1999 Pat Milton (P)2000 Recorded Books

Outstanding

Well written and narrated account of TWA 800 Crash and FBI investigation.Pat Milton brings each scene to life, from the airport ,the recovery site, the morgue to the hanger holding the recovered aircraft. One feels areal connection to everyone involved, the divers the witnesses, the investigators and most of all the families. Having worked for TWA in the 60s I want to say most TWA people care a lot about their passengers. A plane never goes down that I don't recall one of the worst incidents of my life. I worked in reservations in Pittsburgh.Besides Pittsburgh we also handled calls from Cleveland ,Columbus and Dayton Ohio. On this day one of our 727s from Columbus to Dayton crashed while I was on the phones.All lines lit up.A supervisor came to each of us and told us how to handle the calls.I remember nothing more of that day.It's a total blank.

Interesting

It is a good book, an interesting story although it goes way off track at times. I was a bit perplexed by the long descriptions about Vietnam ant the arrest of Yusef, I felt the author could have left those parts out.

Very detailed

What made the experience of listening to In the Blink of an Eye the most enjoyable?

Told not only the story of the plane, but of the people involved and how it affected them.
Amazing how they can reconstruct a plane from minute pieces.

What does Richard Poe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Gives the story an emotional side that just reading words couldn't.

Love this BOOK

If you would love a book you can close your eyes and be there this is the book.cary stewartm

Longer Than Necessary

Great book/story, but could have been shorter. Way too much time devoted to discussing terrorists. Narration was a bit dated, but that didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Great journalistic work

I can recall exactly where I was on 7/17/1996. I was leaving a movie theater with family who came up to NJ to visit from GA. When we got home at about 9:30pm, on the news was a special report about a plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Weeks, months and years had then passed, and all anyone ever talked about was a bomb/missile being the cause. However, those who worked closely on the TWA 800 case did not reach this conclusion after exhausting all possibilities of a crime. Pat Milton was able to capture this through rigorous investigative journalism that involved combing through both FBI and NTSB information. In addition, the victims and their families take on personalities rather than unknown passengers and those related to them in this book. Milton shows all of the extensive measures the FBI used to determine whether criminal activity was used to bring down flight 800, as well as some of the infighting between the FBI and NTSB. The story is riveting overall and the reading fits the mood well.

Ok but could have been shorter

This book seemed to go over things multiple times. Before your sure of anything. Once threw would have been enough.