Chapter 5, Beyond the Black Box Summary and Analysis

Chapter 5 concerns the human remains of mid-air disasters. Roach meets with injury analyst Dennis Shanahan. Although he normally investigates the claims of injured people looking to sue companies, Shanahan is occasionally called upon to investigate air disasters, such as TWA Flight 800. Roach is curious to know how one endures having to piece together a puzzle so grim.

When the black box cannot tell the story of what happened to a downed plane, investigators must consult the "human wreckage." At Shanahan's recommendation, Roach consults a book called Aerospace Pathology. She sees the kind of story that a corpse might tell based on the quality of its wounds relative to where the person was seated on the plane. With Flight 800, Roach explains, Shanahan was looking for evidence of a bombing.

Investigating Flight 800 was emotionally difficult...