Star Dust Falling Author:Rayner, Jay In August 1947 in the highest of the high Andes, one of the earliest long-haul passenger aircraft, a Lancastrian called Star Dust, disappeared en route to Santiago, Chile. It left behind only questions: Was it sabotage? Was there a hoard of gold on board? What was the meaning of the radio operator's mysterious final message before the airwav... more »es fell silent? Only with the discovery of the wreckage by two Argentinians climbers in January 2000 could those questions begin to be answered.
Star Dust Falling is the story of those on board that pioneering aircraft and of the ramshackle airline - British Sount American Airways - that sent them to their deaths. Run by an austere but charismatic Australian war hero newly arrived from Bomber Command, BSAA recruited its flying crew almost entirely from among ex-bomber pilots. The fleet of converted Lancaster bombers operated on a shoestring, regularly flying without fuel reserves or access to adequate weather forcasts. The result was that it became one of the most dangerous airlines in the western world.« less