(Subdue) Lockout by John Nance - 4.5 stars

[Ellen]

Pangia Airlines flight 10 left Tel Aviv for an 11 hour flight to New York. Once it began to cross the Atlantic Ocean passengers and crew began to notice that constellations seemed to be on the wrong side of the plane and somehow they were seeing land mass and lights below them. Impossible, as all the cockpit indicators showed that the plane was still on course and should be over water. Suddenly the pilots realize that the instruments are locked, there is no radio communication and a rudimentary compass shows the plane headed back towards the Middle East. Something is seriously wrong and the flight crew is unable to change it.

The governments of the US and Israel believe the plane has been hijacked and fear that it may be headed for Iran which would cause an enormous international incident if not the start of a nuclear war. The fact that a deposed Israeli official with a hawkish agenda is on board Pangia 10 complicate matters. Has he somehow electronically sabotaged the airliner? Tensions accelerate as the Israeli Prime Minister weighs shooting down a plane full of innocent people before Iran does so.

Except for quite a bit of aviation tech speak this was a thrill ride from start to finish. Nance can definitely write suspenseful stories and I loved it.