Susan Christianson, Flying with Wings: A True Story of an Alaska Aircraft Accident

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Thu, 11/02/2023 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Event address:

Village Books

1200 11th St

Bellingham, WA 98225

Join us in welcoming Susan Christianson to the Readings Gallery!

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Flying With Wings: A True Story of an Alaska Aircraft Accident, plunges readers into the depths of a 1994 DeHavilland Otter floatplane disaster in Alaska's Taku River. This story intertwines the adrenaline-pumping urgency of the crash and the determination of the Wings of Alaska pilots to rescue survivors. But this is not a story mired in sorrow. It captures the spirit of human resilience, especially epitomized by one survivor's return two decades later, seeking understanding and closure from the place that took her loved ones. The book honestly explores the root cause behind the accident overlooked by governmental authorities more focused on assigning blame than finding the true cause and improving airline safety. A purpose in its telling is to help prevent the far-too-many aviation accidents still happening across Alaska and the United States.

Susan Stark Christianson, author of Flying With Wings: A True Story of an Alaska Aircraft Accident, is an award-winning author and journalist. She is the owner of Christianson Communications and founder of the Women's Voices Project. Susan served as an advertising and communications consultant for numerous state and federal agencies and private businesses. Her work included helping to prepare Emergency Response Plans for the aviation industry. She is also the author of the book Women's Voices: The Wisdom of the Grandmothers and the producer and director of the award-winning documentary film The Wisdom of the Grandmothers, which aired on PBS and FNX stations around the country. She is currently producing and directing the documentary film Indigenous Prophecy Today, interviews with wisdom keepers around the world. In 2018, Susan was honored to receive the Rasmuson Foundation Fellowship Award to support her work. She is a proud mother of two daughters and a grandmother to two wonderful boys.

Bob Jacobsen wrote the prologue and epilogue to this book. He shared his life with the author and opened his company files on the tragic accident the book recounts to enable it to be written. Bob is a lifelong Juneau resident. He received degrees in Public Administration and Political Science at the University of Oregon in 1977. With family and friends, he founded Wings of Alaska in 1982 and Wings Airways in 2002. He was selected Citizen of the Year by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce in 2005. Bob took an active role statewide in the visitor and aviation industries, serving as President of the Alaska Visitor Association and the Alaska Air Carriers Association. He was inducted into the Alaska Business Hall of Fame in 2006. Though he and his partners sold Wings of Alaska in 2008 to a Portland, Oregon company, Bob continues to be involved in Alaska aviation and tourism. He and his wife, Darlene, and their two sons continue to live in Juneau, Alaska. Both young men work in the Alaska aviation industry.

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