“Flight #116 Is Down,” by Caroline Cooney
Scholastic Books, New York, 1992, 201 pages, Grades 7-9.
Junior high readers like books that are packed with excitement. To achieve this, the author must create a vivid setting and develop characters that can grow through the experiences they encounter in the plot.
Caroline Cooney has done this in her gripping novel about an airplane crash on the Eastern Seaboard. In the carnage following the crash, readers will discover who the characters really are, not just what they think they are. In this page-turning thriller, we see the two main characters, Heidi and Patrick, discover the great strengths within themselves that they were unaware of. The name of this award winning novel is “Flight #116 Is Down.”
Patrick Farquhar is 17 years old and lives in Nearing River, Connecticut. He wants to be part of the ambulance and rescue department in Nearing River. But since he is still a minor, he can only serve as a junior member. He chaffs at this restriction and dreams of doing something heroic in the town. In the meantime, though he doesn’t like coffee, he drinks it at a local diner with the sheriff’s deputies, construction workers and other rugged men in the area.
Nearby, on an elegant estate, 16-year-old Heidi Landseth lives in a state of self-doubt. Her jet-setting parents are again off on some elaborate business venture. They don’t understand Heidi because she isn’t fixated on clothes, looks or money.
Heidi feels inadequate because she isn’t thin, doesn’t get high grades and can’t seem to connect with the elite girls at a prep school. Having been rejected by the rich girls, she decides to enroll in the local high school. Unfortunately for her, the girls at the new school reject her because of her rich parents. So there Heidi sits, wondering about her worth, whether she will ever have any friends and afraid she will never do anything useful.
One night, Patrick is driving his truck through the rural roads, hoping something exciting will happen. Meanwhile, Heidi walks the family dogs on the estate as sleet begins to fall. A flight from San Diego going to New York approaches the area.
All of a sudden, the plane from California has massive mechanical failure. It falls like a rock from the sky and crashes with an explosion on the Landseth estate. Heidi can’t believe her eyes. She gathers herself and calls 911 and reports the plane crash. She tells the dispatcher that the plane has crashed near her house.
The 911 dispatcher sends out an emergency distress call that Patrick quickly answers. He meets Heidi upon arriving at the crash scene. For a moment they are both frozen by shock. But they both quickly know that they must act because people’s lives are at stake. They rush down to the burning plane. It is a cauldron of death, destruction and wounded people. What should they do?
Do Patrick and Heidi save critically injured people? Do they have enough courage and intelligence to develop a rescue plan? Do they overcome their doubts? Why do we discover how remarkable both these teenagers are by the end of the book? To find out the answers to these questions, go to the library and check out this exciting book, “Flight #116 Is Down.”
This award-winning novel is thrilling to read. The courage that Heidi and Patrick demonstrate is inspiring. Heidi does not believe in herself and wonders if she is capable of doing anything useful. We see her repeatedly transcending herself as she selflessly battles frightening situations.
As well, Patrick repeatedly acts with courage during the harrowing rescue. Readers will cheer for both teenagers by the end of the book. If you like plenty of action, this is the book for you. I loved this novel when I read it in 1993 and it is just as rousing 24 years later. I hope you like this novel as much as I did. Enjoy!
