AIR HAZARDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 221, 18 September 1930, Page 3

AIR HAZARDS.

SAFETY IN FLYING. : NO INSOLUBLE PROBLEM. CARDINAL POINTS FOR PILOTS. The' air disaster at Meophan, Kentji has convinced many people that when an air journey is undertaken, unknown; and therefore unavoidable, risks are Tun, and that the aeroplane is a vehicle which cannot be freed from inherent faults and a predisposition to accidents* says the "London Observer's 5 ' Air, Correspondent.

Are there hazards of the air which human, prevision cannot foresee and overcome? It may be so. But even such hazards are nearly always overcome or avoided by a sound pilot aided by efficient ground organisation. Un« foretold. storm is a contingency, if a rare one, but itneed not bring disaster. A heavy-bird might in' some circumstances, "wreck a machine; if, for example, it struck a Schneider Trophy, racer. A bird may shatter a wooden propeller, but not a metal one. Bui for many reasons metal propellers ard coming into almost universal use. And there is the danger of collision in the air, which although theoretically; avoidable by observance of the rules, and although actually very rare even iri -service flying, threatens by .the rapid increase of flying to become the most serious of all the risks.

Most Accidents Easy to Avoid. But it is not. the unforeseen which exact a heavy toll of life: it i 3 the known and common dangers which are Avith alarming frequency ignored, or defied, by all except most careful pilots. Air travel, instead of Being, as undoubtedly it is, much less safer than British railway travel, could at this moment be made manifestly as safe;' and it could be made very much safer, than road or t sea travel. This resulij could be immediately achieved by— ~(1) Pilots never for a moment forgetting that the very nature of theiij craft, even if it be a.so-called fool-proof machine, fitted with all the safety gad* gets, demands incessant alertness. .'■■■. (2) That the pilot cannot afford tS make the briefest €ight if even silghtly, indisposed. .. '•. ... (3) That the blunting of the percep-. tions and slowing down of the faculties by the slightest excess of alcohol dis-: counts the pilot's safety'by 50 peij cent. (4) That "showing off" is mucS more risky in an aeroplane than in a' car. The writer asserts, witJious fear of contradiction by anyons conversant with flying, that nine out of ten accidents would be avoided by strict attention to these four matters. ; ■;;'

Wide Publicity Salutary. ■ Mechanical failure is the Tarest of all causes iof aircraft ; accidents, in countries which,' like Great Britain, impose a high standard and insist- upon frequent inspection. And let it be saidj there must be no yielding to, the occasional mutterings of discontent, on ac« count of the irritation and ■expense! caused by this strict supervision. ' Accidents and their causes ought to be the subject of emphasis and publicity; Particulars of every * one that occurs ought to be forced to the notice of every airman. The Air Ministry should without unnecessary delay publish, full results of every'court of inquiry. On no occasion, nor out of consideration' for pilot, manufacturer, or any other? interest, should any momentous fact be withheld; and even if it not be a provable fact, it should still be published with the necessary qualification.