Author Interview: Emilio Corsetti III, author of 'Scapegoat'

We're doing something a little different today.  Instead of talking to a character, we're talking to the author himself. We’re thrilled to be talking to author Emilio Corsetti III. It is a pleasure to have him with us today at Pimp That Character!

Thank you for your interview, Emilio.  How old are you and what do you do for a living?

I’ve made 59 orbits around the sun and half way through my second. I work as a pilot for a major airline.

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features?

Okay. I have unusual ears. For some unknown reason, my ears flatten at the top. It’s not really noticeable unless you happen to be sitting behind me and staring at the back of my head. It happened to me once in a classroom. The kid behind me must have been looking at me for some time without my knowledge. Suddenly he blurted out, “there’s something wrong with your ears.” That was an embarrassing day.

What would I love the most about you?

My sense of humor.

What would I hate the most about you?

My wife claims that I have an opinion on everything. She suggested that I start my own radio show and call it “Ask Emilio.”

Where do you go when you are angry?

To a quiet place.

What makes you laugh out loud?

I’m not into slapstick. I’m more into humorous scenes. Remember the Coen Brother’s movie Raising Arizona. I laughed a lot watching that movie. The whole bank robbery scene is great. “You wantin’ us to freeze or you wantin’ us to lie down…”

What is in your refrigerator right now?

Sloppy joe I made last night. Store bought broccoli soup. And four ears of corn on the cobb. That’s tonight’s dinner.

What is your most treasured possession?

A picture of my daughter Allison who died at seven-and-a-half weeks.

What is your greatest fear?

A good measure of your anxiety level are your dreams. People chasing you. Perpetual falling. I don’t have those dreams, though I’ve had them in the past.

What is the trait you most not like about yourself?

My optimism.

What is your idea of a perfect day?

72 degrees and a round of golf, dinner with my wife, and a chance at getting lucky.

What are three must haves when shopping at the grocery store?

Bananas, bread, and something to go between the slices.

I’m opening up your cabinet.  What foods do I see?

Cheerios, canned peaches, oatmeal, and spaghetti and sauce

If you could change one physical thing about yourself, what would that be?

My perpetual frown. I can be in the greatest mood, and someone will come up to me and ask me why I look so pissed.

Are you a loner or do you prefer to surround yourself with friends?

A loner who also enjoys the company of friends

Who is your best friend?

That’s easy. My wife.

Do you have children?

My wife and I had a baby girl. She was born with a birth defect called congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). She lived for seven-and-a-half weeks. Due to an under-developed left lung, she never took a single breath on her own. She never left the hospital. But she’s been our guardian angel ever since.

What is your favorite weather?

Partly cloudy and a temperature of 72 degrees.

What’s your idea of a perfect meal?

My famous linguini and asparagus

Someone is secretly in love with you.  Who is it and how do you feel about that?

I do have someone who keeps endorsing me for job skills on LinkedIn. I have no idea who this person is.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An astronaut.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?

Visit my daughter’s gravesite.

About the Author

Emilio Corsetti III is a professional pilot and author. Emilio has written for both regional and national publications including the Chicago Tribune, Multimedia Producer, and Professional Pilot magazine. Emilio is the author of the book 35 Miles From Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980. The upcoming book Scapegoat: A Flight Crew's Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption tells the true story of an airline crew wrongly blamed for causing a near-fatal accident and the captain's decades-long battle to clear his name. Emilio is a graduate of St. Louis University. He and his wife Lynn reside in Dallas, TX.

For More Information

• Visit Emilio Corsetti III’s website.
• Connect with Emilio on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Book:

"This is the kind of case the Board has never had to deal with-a head-on collision between the credibility of a flight crew versus the airworthiness of the aircraft." NTSB Investigator-in-Charge Leslie Dean Kampschror.

While the crew's efforts to save TWA 841 were initially hailed as heroic, that all changed when safety inspectors found twenty-one minutes of the thirty-minute cockpit voice recorder tape blank. The captain of the flight, Harvey "Hoot" Gibson, subsequently came under suspicion for deliberately erasing the tape in an effort to hide incriminating evidence. The voice recorder was never evaluated for any deficiencies.

From that moment on, the investigation was focused on the crew to the exclusion of all other evidence. It was an investigation based on rumors, innuendos, and speculation. Eventually the NTSB, despite sworn testimony to the contrary, blamed the crew for the incident by having improperly manipulated the controls, leading to the dive.

This is the story of an NTSB investigation gone awry and one pilot's decades-long battle to clear his name.

On April 4, 1979, a Boeing 727 with 82 passengers and a crew of 7 rolled over and plummeted from an altitude of 39,000 feet to within seconds of crashing were it not for the crew's actions to save the plane. The cause of the unexplained dive was the subject of one of the longest NTSB investigations at that time.

Scapegoat: A Flight Crew’s Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption is available at Amazon and B&N.