New York Times Bestselling Author and World-Recognized Aviation Analyst John J. Nance

In need of a publicity photo shoot in LA, well known professional photographer Bridgitte Krupke (who also happens to be John's daughter) decided to go for the real thing at the end of LAX runway 24R. In other words, the MD-80 was really screaming by overhead. This is not photoshopped!

New York Times Bestselling author John J. Nance is a veteran airline captain, a decorated U.S. Air Force pilot and war veteran, a licensed attorney, professional speaker and world-recognized Aviation Analyst for ABC World News and Good Morning America. His bestselling works include BLACKOUT, PANDORA’S BOX, MEDUSA’S CHILD and THE LAST HOSTAGE. John, who still flies, lives on San Juan Island in Washington state.

From the Author:

As a kid, no airplane ever flew past me unnoticed.

There was a small airfield just a few miles from my home in North Dallas and I spent many an hour riding over there on my bike to watch the small airplanes come and go – occasionally begging a ride around the pattern. Aviation was clearly in my DNA: my dad was a B-17, B-25, and B-29 pilot in WWII, my uncle a B-17 aircraft commander shot down and a POW in Germany for three years, and another uncle was a B-25 commander and one of the character models for Joe Heller’s Catch 22 (they served together on Corsica). My son, Chris, is now a third generation Air Force pilot (C-130’s). It was never a question that I would be a pilot, just when and how.

John's official ABC/Disney photo.

After getting my private pilot’s license in 1965 and profoundly scaring myself in the next few years before realizing how little I knew and how minimal my civilian training had been (I was dangerously allowed to solo after only 3 hours of flight instruction), I grounded myself in anticipation of starting Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training. Thanks to the Air Force, I finally ended up with world class preparation to fly professionally, and the dream of becoming an airline pilot was realized after leaving active duty when Braniff International brought me aboard in 1975. Flying through the intervening 51 years between my private license and today has given me a rich history of incredible airborne experiences, airline, private, and military, flying through two wars in the C-141, and being at the controls of Boeing 747’s, DC-8’s, 727’s and 737’s flying all over the planet.

John lecturing at the Telluride Institute in Colorado, 2015

But the awe and respect for the essentially unnatural act of levitating a heavier than air machine never leaves me. Even now, sitting at the end of the runway in my reliable Mooney single engine preparing for takeoff, I am acutely aware of how unforgiving aviation can be in the face of negligence, or even a blasé attitude.

What I still get out of flying is a multi-dimensional thing: The challenge of melding back into the same air traffic control environment with precisely the same professionalism and procedures I’d be using at the helm of a Boeing 777; the physical and mental challenge of actually flying the machine and making good decisions as well as achieving landings that don’t register on the Richter Scale; and the incredible fun and freedom of being able to shrink time and distance with wings, and view the world from above, seeing sights occasionally so beautiful that if painted, they’d look as surreal as a velvet Elvis.

John back in his native Texas signing copies of a novel about the Pacific Northwest. Geographically ecumenical!

While waiting for the release of LOCKOUT, check out some of John's previous works!
Fiction: Orbit, Saving Cascadia, Fire Flight, Skyhook, Headwind, Turbulence, Blackout, The Last Hostage, Medusa's Child, Pandora's Clock, Phoenix Rising, Scorpion Strike, and Final Approach.
Non-fiction: Charting the Course (with Kathleen Bartholomew), Why Hospitals Should Fly, Golden Boy, What Goes Up, On Shaky Ground, Blind Trust, and Splash of Colors.

Praise for John J. Nance:

Final Approach

"A taut high-tech mystery that could have been written only by an airline industry insider." - New York Times bestselling author Stephen Coonts

John and Kathleen with the members of the National Transportation Safety Board, 2014

Phoenix Rising

"Harrowing . . . Nance delivers suspense and smooth writing. A classy job." - The New York Times Book Review

Pandora's Clock

"A ticking time bomb of suspense." - Chicago Tribune

"A combination of The Hot Zone and Speed." - USA Today

Medusa's Child

"So compelling it's tough to look away." - People

Turbulence

"Mesmerizing in-flight details [and] a compelling cast of realistic characters . . . once again prove John J. Nance 'the king of the modern day aviation thriller.'" - Publishers Weekly

Skyhook

"Readers are in for death-defying plane rides, lively dialogue, and realistic characters who survive crises with courage and humor." - Associated Press

On Shaky Ground: America's Earthquake Alert

"Gripping! Breathlessly unrolls a succession of disasters. . . If you want a literary equivalent of the quake experience, On Shaky Ground is the book for you." - San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle