“CRASHES.'

Hokitika Guardian, 11 July 1918, Page 4

“CRASHES.'

HOW ACCIDENTS HAPPEN

There are three great causes of aeroplane accidents - the failure of fhe man, the failure of the engine, and the failure of the machine. The first is by far tho most frequent, fur the lmnian clement is always liable to add dangtr to the safest exploits, and in flying it often i anses fatal accidents. It is not so much the physical failure of a. man ina fainting lit, or a sudden attack of sickness, which is rare, as error in judgment and over-confidence that so often causes dis -nst- r.

The largest number of accidents is caused in landing, and it is there that the great skill of flying lies. The pilot has to touch the ground at a speed of 10 or 50 miles an hour, and if he does not do it; carefully he is very liable to have a severe ‘‘crash.” He must judge the distance well, or he may land “too short” and fly into trees or a roof, or he may “overshoot” end run on into a hedge or ditch, and so wreck his machine and injure himself. Again, lie may get off the ground and start to climb and turn at the same time, and so lose so much speed that the machine sideslips to the ground. This is one of the commonest of accidents, and is frequently fatal. TI e airman may have done this “climbing turn” a hundred times, but the day comes when he is overconfident or careless and does not allow himself enough speed. Perhaps some friend on the ground is watching him. Less than a minute after he leaves the ground he lies in a splintered wreck of wood and wire. Again, an airman may dive very steeply at a great speed and then carelessly pull the “stick” hack with such a jerk that, as the nose of the machine comes up, the tail breaks off, and the machine and pilot drop to the ground like a plummet. That and similar accidents are cases of man failure and not of machine failure, and happen through over-confidence and through putting too much trust in the machine.

Engine failure is very liable to cans accidents, as it compels tbe airman t land at once, lie has to choos quickly a landing ground, and it ver; often happens that there are no tla fields or suitable stretches of groiun in “ gliding distance” of the machine and so it has to be landed on bat: ground and is “ crashed.” Tin nearer to the earlh the ma hine i; when the engine fails the greater if the danger, as the pilot has lesf choice of landing ground. If the engine “cuts out ” when the machine if very low, and particularly when it i; just getting off, it is possible that il will crash into a house or a tree and that the pilot will be killed. Accidents, owing to machine failure, are, fortunately, few, luckily for the airman’s nerves. Modern machines are very strongly made, and every piece of wood and metal fitting is carefully tested and inspected, and it is very rare for the wings or a machine to fold up or for its tail to break off. In aeroplanes in general use, which are well taken care of and are not taxed beyond their strength by the pilot, it is most rare, as they are so designed and built that they have a “ factor of safety ” of three or four

times the normal strains and stresses of flight. It is a danger that is the most ob/ious to the non-flying public, but one that is, fortunately, least apparent to those who fly.