Chapter 17 - "A Certain Embarrassment - ...the Urge to Shift Blame Becomes Even Uglier When the Accused Has Left the Feast" Summary and Analysis

Gann pilots a flight out of San Francisco, bound for Honolulu. He is captain of a DC-4A that has been fitted with four brand-new Dash-13 engines at a total refit cost of eighty thousand dollars. The first officer is Drake, the second officer is Hayes, the radio operator is Vaclavick, the flight engineer is Snow, and one of the stewardesses is Grimes. While Gann's flight reaches cruising altitude, he reflects that other pilots are flying similar planes at similar altitudes to disparate destinations. By this time, Hughen is a chief pilot with his airline, and Johnson—Gann's...