About the Book
Dene Ward’s Unexpected Flight is a high-stakes, darkly comic account of one of the most chaotic journeys ever attempted in the skies of West Africa. What should have been a simple forty-minute hop to Douala unravels into a surreal odyssey of malfunctioning Soviet-era aircraft, improvised ground crews, livestock in the cabin, and a customs system powered more by personality than regulation.
The book begins with a choice between a long but safe international flight and a short “local carrier” option that promises speed but no certainty. Choosing convenience, the narrator steps into a nightmare: taped-up windows, propellers that sound like dying animals, and fellow passengers who treat goats, chickens, and even an alligator as carry-on baggage. What follows is a series of misadventures—aborted landings, endless delays, diversions to Libreville under armed guard, and hours stranded in mid-air because “they don’t land when it rains.”
Interwoven with the chaos of air travel are vivid portraits of the people who keep (or disrupt) things moving: a customs officer who only clears perishable cargo after taste-testing exotic fruit, an agent who sabotages shipments by “losing” manifests, and checkpoint guards who measure authority in blocks of cheese. The absurdity never dulls the tension—every delay, diversion, and bureaucratic hurdle could collapse the entire operation.
Yet beneath the humor and disbelief, Unexpected Flight is a testament to resilience in global logistics. Ward shows how, in places where infrastructure is weak and rules bend with the weather, survival depends on improvisation, charm, and sheer stubbornness.
At once hilarious, harrowing, and true to life, Unexpected Flight captures the razor’s edge where international business, aviation, and raw human absurdity collide.
About the Author
True stories from the frontlines of global logistics
Dene Ward has spent the better part of three decades doing the kind of field logistics that rarely make it into company reports
Born with a passport in one hand and a shipping manifest in the other, he has worked across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and every place where bureaucracy, weather, and wildly underqualified equipment converge to form what most people politely call challenges and he simply calls Tuesday.
He’s not a writer by trade, but he’s a storyteller by necessity — because sometimes, the truth really is stranger (and funnier) than fiction. Whether bribing a border guard with canned sardines, or building an aircraft offload platform out of jungle timber and raw optimism, he’s learned one thing:
You can survive anything, as long as you have duct tape, good boots, and someone nearby willing to laugh about it later.
Qn 1: Can you tell us more about your book What is it about?
Born with a passport in one hand and a shipping manifest in the other, I have worked across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and every place where bureaucracy, weather, and wildly underqualified equipment converge to form what most people politely call challenges and I simply calls Tuesday.
Qn 2: Who do you think would be interested in this book, is it directed at any particular market?
Expats, International Logistics, Supply Chain, True life drama
Qn 3: Out of all the books in the world, and all the authors, which are your favourite and why?
Enid Blyton Compulsiv reading at school always stuck with me
Qn 4: What guidance would you offer to someone new, or trying to enhance their writing?
Love what you write. Books last forever what a legacy
Love this what a crazy fight
Hi, I came across your profile and saw your book. Is it available on platforms like Booksprout, BookBub, or just on Amazon?