53 pages 1 hour read

T. J. Newman

Worst Case Scenario

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

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Prologue-Chapter 5

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue Summary

Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of a plane crash, a car crash, death, and miscarriage.

According to the International Nuclear Event Scale, there are eight different levels of disaster at a nuclear power plant. The seventh level, identified as a “Major Accident,” has only happened twice in history: at Fukushima and at Chernobyl. There has never been a level eight scenario.

Now, aboard Coastal Airways Flight 235, the pilot has a heart attack and dies instantly, slumping forward over the controls. The plane goes into a nosedive. The flight attendant in the cockpit tries unsuccessfully to lift the dead pilot off the controls. In the cabin, another flight attendant crawls toward the bathroom and finds the co-pilot unconscious on the floor.

The stewardess in the cockpit continues to try to move the pilot as ground control tries to contact the plane. She grabs what she thinks is the radio and calls for help, only to realize that she is broadcasting her voice over the PA system. The co-pilot, Greg, regains consciousness and scrambles out of the bathroom. When he finally reaches the cockpit, he sees the flight attendant wild with desperation and the pilot slumped over the controls.