about the evolution of flight-test safety.
She had chosen an aisle seat near the front of the cabin.
Across the aisle, a young father was entertaining his daughter with a picture book. Two business travelers worked on their laptops. An older couple shared a packet of crackers.
It was an ordinary flight.
For nearly forty minutes, Pauline had watched the desert landscape disappear beneath the clouds.
Then she felt the vibration.
At first, it was subtle.
A faint unevenness beneath the floor.
She paused with her book open on her
