Uncontrolled Flight

The novel Uncontrolled Flight (story summary below) explores the crash of an aerial firefighting plane in the BC Interior and the ensuing investigation, which exposes a web of truth, lies, grief and passion. The author, Frances Peck, was inspired by the many fascinating cases handled by her husband, a retired air accident investigator. Peck drew on the expertise of staff from the Transportation Safety Board and Conair Aerial Firefighting, a conference sponsor, to make the fictional story feel as authentic as possible.

STORY SUMMARY:

Wildfire season in the British Columbia Interior. Experienced firefighting pilot Rafe Mackie loses control of his airplane while doing a routine drop and plummets to his death.

The investigation that follows unleashes revelations that forever change the lives of three people: Will, the pilot who watches his mentor crash; Sharon, the widow struggling to come to terms with her loss; and Nathalie, an accident investigator with shadowy connections to the incident. As a form of the truth emerges, these three are drawn into a tangle of secrets and lies, passion and grief, blame and forgiveness that forces them to confront the actions that brought one man’s life crashing down.

In her second novel, Frances Peck creates another explosive literary page-turner, one that probes love, loyalty, and the ways we try to conceal and redeem our lives.

• Interview on Vancouver Co-op Radio’s World Poetry Café
• Named one of 49th Shelf’s Most Anticipated Fall 2023 Fiction
• Named one of CBC Books’ Canadian Fiction to Read in Fall 2023