The behind the scenes story of the airline disaster of American Eagle 4184 and the added trauma which arises when airlines fail to treat the victims’ families in a humane way unfolds as Terri Severin tells of the plane crash investigation, healing and recovery in her book In The Wake of the Storm. This story of resilience and hope is a universal story of how the best within us rises up when the worst befalls us. It’s a spellbinding and inspiring account of how the surviving families, broken down by shock and grief, found the strength to take a stance against a flawed corporate system and effect change through advocacy and the passing of new legislation that continues to benefit all passengers today. Within Terri Severin’s poignant account of living with loss, but not succumbing to it, is a universal message of hope.

In one of life’s unfathomable twists, on the afternoon of October 31, 1994 —a Halloween that was marked by nightmarish weather across the Midwest—a turboprop plane bound for Chicago crashed in a soybean field outside the small town of Roselawn, Indiana. All sixty-eight people aboard American Eagle Flight 4184 perished, including the author’s thirty-seven-year-old sister, Patty, and her four-year-old nephew, Patrick.

Instantaneously this tragedy created a ripple effect that grew to have worldwide repercussions. National Geographic has stated it is one of the most significant plane crashes of modern aviation history.

In the Wake of the Storm is the astonishing story of the aftermath of the American Eagle Flight 4184 plane crash. It is also a tale containing unexplainable occurrences that invite the reader to explore a deeper meaning to life and the possibility of an expanded world existing beyond what we can see and touch.

We are pleased that Jim Hall was able to write the Foreword to In the Wake of the Storm, here is part of what he has said.

This story goes beyond Terri Severin’s success in forever altering the airline industry’s approach to families. It is an inspiring account that transcends grief, providing hope in the wake of tragedy and embracing life after experiencing a great loss. No one involved in these accident investigations can truly understand what families go through in the aftermath of a tragedy, nor do we presume that issuing a final report resolves their grief. However, our perspective is forever enlightened by the family members who bravely come forward and continue to share their stories with the public. As Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president and one of its Founding Fathers, once said, “The care of human life and happiness is the first and only legitimate object of good government.”

Jim Hall

Former Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board Managing Partner of Hall & Associates LLC

Introduction by Mary Schiavo

We are pleased that Mary Schiavo was so willing to write the Introduction to In the Wake of the Storm. The following is an excerpt from her Introduction.

Terri’s journey shows us what the reality is like for families forced to live and re-live an airplane disaster and how much time everything related to an airplane crash takes, be it the investigation, the fact findings and hearings, the litigation, and the getting through the anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, and countless little things everyday that remind us of the loved ones lost. I encourage you to go on this journey with her so you can understand, help and maybe change the world in the process.

To read her entire Introduction Click Here: Introduction

Media Appearances

“ Terri Severin ’s account of the crash of American Eagle 4184 is one of great pain and determination.  The loss of loved ones on that Halloween night was compounded by  an airline’s broken communication.  In its aftermath, the efforts of Terri and others to find the truth have forever changed the way airlines and government investigators deal with victims of tragedy."