Much as Eric Schollsberg’s Fast Food Nation made people think about the way we eat, this provocative memoir and exposé challenges readers to question why, given its long history of cover-ups and systemic safety gaps, we continue to trust the aviation industry. On a stormy late May morning in 2008, TACA Airlines Flight 390 crashes at one of the most dangerous airports in the world, Honduras’s Toncontin International Airport. Five people die in the crash—among them Rossana D’Antonio’s brother, pilot Cesare D’Antonio. Suspecting Cesare will be made a scapegoat for the accident, as so often happens to pilots, Rossana decides to leverage her decades of experience as an engineer and set out in search of the truth. Part memoir, part exposé, 26 Seconds interweaves Rossana’s research regarding other parallel accidents with her own story. Six months after the TACA crash, Captain Sully Sullenberger lands his plane on the Hudson River. Although authorities call his landing a miracle, they also blame him for its necessity. One year after the TACA 390 tragedy, Air France 447 falls from the sky. Again, pilot error. As Rossana digs deeper, she exposes a culture that is too quick to conclude pilot error and an industry that experiences systemic weaknesses, chooses profits over safety, lies to its customers, and is willing to risk lives to get its planes back up in the sky. Ultimately, she uncovers the smoking gun she’s been looking for—revealing the truth about TACA 390, exposing aviation cover-ups, and challenging us all to question the very systems we’ve been told we can trust with our lives. “An engrossing re-creation of an aviation tragedy, blending meticulous analysis with a passionate plea for reform.”— Kirkus Reviews “A sister’s moving, alarming examination of an air tragedy. A compact, powerful read.” —BookLife Reviews “In 26 Seconds , Rossana D’Antonio shares a raw and compelling account of tragedy, resilience, and discovery. With vivid storytelling and an unwavering commitment to uncovering the facts, she takes readers on a journey through loss, love, and the complexities of blame. This unforgettable memoir is a testament to the enduring power of truth and the unbreakable bonds of family.” — Los Angeles Book Review “[A] touching tribute to lost lives and a call to action for change in how we perceive and investigate aviation accidents… This memoir makes a significant contribution to the discourse on grief, memory, and justice, reminding us of the human stories behind each headline.” — Readers’ Favorite “ 26 Seconds is not a book to read a chapter here, read a few pages later, read another chapter, the way you can with some stories. You will not put it down.” —Story Circle Network “Where others see only ‘human error,’ and learn nothing of value, Rossana takes us by the hand and shows us what there is to learn and love instead. Speaking for the dead speaks as loudly for Cesare as it does for everyone who could have been in his shoes. It speaks for the past as much as for the future— our future, and the future of Cesare’s legacy.” — Dr. Sidney Dekker author of The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error “26 Seconds is at once a searing portrait of grief and a damning investigation of an industry that puts profit over safety at every turn. With an engineer's exactitude, Rossana D'Antonio exposes how blaming "pilot-error" is often a cover for corporate greed and systemic failures. Like so many plane crashes, the flight that killed D'Antonio's brother was not an accident -- and this powerful book is an affecting guide to understanding why.” — Jessie Singer author of There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster—Who Profits and Who Pays the Price “D'Antonio takes you on a journey of discovery. 26 Seconds is a story that blends the humanity following an aviation disaster, an obsessive quest for answers, finding purpose beyond tragedy, and a scathing rebuke on the weaknesses in our aviation industry. Heartbreaking and so timely.” — Gloria Feldt author of No Excuses and Co-Founder & President of Take the Lead “ 26 Seconds is impossible to put down. You will read it in one sitting. I happily lost a night’s sleep as my heart raced, tears stinging my eyes. Turning page-after-page, I couldn’t read fast enough to see if Rossana’s heroic search to find the “smoking gun” that would ultimately clear her brother’s name would be uncovered by her ceaseless efforts to research each detail of the disaster.” — Monica Holloway author of Driving with Dead People “This story will move you to tears and move you to action—which is to say that it does what a great memoir must do. With the heart of a sister, Rossana takes us inside the life of a brother who loved to fly and died doing it. With the mind of an activist and an engineer, she takes us inside the aviation industry that is far too quick to lay blame on the pilot in the cockpit rather than examine its