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I was two-thirds of the way back to Geneva and two-thirds of the way through Fly by Wire when I looked at the plastic sheet of emergency instructions in the seat pocket in front of me and realized that I was actually flying on an Airbus A320. Strangely, this was immensely reassuring.

The cover picture of the Airbus landed in the Hudson River by Captain Sullenberger is iconic. We all probably remember that Flight Cactus 1549 was in collision with a flock of Canada geese only minutes into its flight and was landed, with superb skill, by Captain Sullenberger, in the Hudson River, five minutes from take-off without a single life being lost.

Langewiesche begins with the rather dull inquest, then retraces the journey, giving a chapter to the birds and the problem they pose for La Guardia airport. He recounts the events, second by second, invariably demonstrating the superb competence of the experienced team on the flight and in the control tower, and the calm, life preserving behaviour of the passengers.

Frequent departures into other familiar stories of long airplane glides (in engine-failure, hijack or fuel-loss situations) draw frightening parallels.

However, the real hero of the story is the Airbus A320 and Ziegler, the brilliant engineer who perfected the fly-by-wire system, so that the plane worked in perfect harmony with Captain Sullenberger and saved the lives of 155 people.

This is a book to read if you share the feeling of anxiety that I, a frequent flier, invariably experience as I step into that metal tube for yet another air journey.

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