ETA: October 20, 2026
Five PIlots. One Crash Pad. No EAsy Landings.
A Novel by
Joseph A Conforti
In the Fall of 1990, Captain Tony Martin’s life is in a tailspin. Airline deregulation is redefining what it means to be a pilot. The airline he flies for faces an imminent strike. Martin splits his time between fighting with his family at home and fighting with his eccentric roommates in their dilapidated crash pad. War is brewing in the Middle-East. And one of his roommates is probably certifiable, trouble is, it’s difficult to tell which one. Martin’s just a guy trying to hold things together in a messed-up world. The holidays are coming and he could really use a vacation, preferably somewhere tropical, with lots of bourbon. But chasing drug-runners in Honduras wasn’t on his Christmas list.
Buckle up.
“A Hilarious journey into the mayhem of airline deregulation as i knew it.”
— Tom Davis, Retired Airline Pilot
“Comical, Compelling characters and situations make This book difficult to put down.”
— Donald Krivitsky, Former Army Pilot
In addition to flying jets, Conforti’s skills include filmmaking, writing, and cartooning. He holds a bachelor’s degree in flight technology from Northeastern University, and a master’s in media arts from Emerson College. Having served in Vietnam and the First Gulf War, Conforti retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1993. His long and successful career with Continental/United Airlines concluded upon his retirement in 2015.
Among Conforti’s accomplishments is the writing and production of several independent documentary and feature films. As a talented cartoonist, his work has graced the pages of Leatherneck and Airline Pilot Magazines.
His first novel, The Crash Pad, was a decade-long project. While he admits it was a labor of love, it also served as an outlet for the deep-seated frustration stemming from flying during the airline deregulation era.
Originally a resident of Massachusetts, he now makes his home and writes in South Florida.