The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-05-06
WHY AIRMEN FALL
A Good Cause for Every Fatal
Air Accident.
But Usually Dead Flyer Alone
Could Tell.
DlSOBEYING RULES Big CAUSE
Recklessness and Sudden Loss
OF Nerve Frequent.
Fatalities Are Small Compared
With Men Trained.
DISOBEYING RULES BIG CAUSE

Dallas. Tex, May 6.-There is a rea-
son for every aviation accident. some
times it is an obvious one put 100 oIiei
only the dead flyer ever knew JUST
what sent his machine crashing to the
ground.
I'D to the middle of April there had
been eighty-six fatalities in the SIX
Texas aviation camps and in many OF
the accidents that caused them no one
knew Just what unexpected condition,
lust what weakness in man or mate
rial had developed high in. the AR.
Fort Worth with it's three aviation
fields and its preponderance OF flyers
training under the British OFFICERS III
the Royal Flying corps had forty-nine
deaths up to April II; Houston was
next with sixteen.
Crashes may be due to misappl1ca-
ton of rules, unfamiliarity with pc
culiar aerial conditions. faulty mate
rial in the airplane, sudden fright SELF
ing the viator or mere recklessness.
One of the most common reasons Tor
accidents, as given by instructors. Is
disobedience of orders. At certain
height and going at a certain we'll de-
fined speed, SO may loops or dives or
whatever maneuver is to be adopted
may be made with safety. If the avia-
tor disregards the laws of mathemat-
les in which he has been drilled and
undertakes one more loop, the conse-
quences may prove fatal.
Landing in a cross wind is highly
dangerous. 1t frequently causes the
plane to turn completely over and
pins abe pilot underneath the heavy
engine.
Some Lose Nerve.
There have been numerous deaths.
flight commanders say, from pilots
losing their nerve. The driver finds
he has lost control of his engine,
makes a frantic effort to right the
faIa faf Is he rSt nj IN
Inconsistencies and the plane falls to
earth at such terrific speed that the
aviator is dead before he reaches the
ground.
During their periods of instruction,
cadets about to fly are given a strict
ton in which some airplanes have
fallen indicated that the cadets, once
up in the air. disregarded their in
structions and followed their own
sweet will. According to the rules of
the air IL each plane has kept its
course, under normal conditions col
lision with another plane is not pos
sible 81 &
Lieut.. c. S. Chase of Ellington Field,
Houston, recently described some OF
Immediately following the first sexer-
cises inwffuh .tfTer Students develop
their !sehses@of balance and stability,
they are drilled in aerial dynamics.
LleuleIidHt~ CaASe QeCiar60af that
''air pockets'sSare not pockets at all,
but ore ascending and descending
currents caused by hot and cold
waves in theaafr. A plane asceuds in
warm currents and falls in cold cur
rents. Forests and wet grass and
trees make cool air; level stretches
where the sun shines contain wal. air.
Aviator Must Know Lot.
An aviator must understand ME-
teorology, photography, wireless tele-
graphy and be a. master of machine
gun fire, Lieutenant Chase added.
When he becomes "a flying cadet and
wears a white hat band, he gets his
first ride aloft. After few trips he
does solo" that is. goes up alone, the
most Important part of hts training.
Next he flies in formation and then
on cross country trips where he is
compelled to land guided only by
maps and instruments. Then comes
his higher development with machine
gun fire and other special training
which increases his usefulness as one
of the eyes of the army"
Officers commanding the Texas
camps, while deplorfng the fatalities
that have accompanied the training
of Uncle Sans flyers, say that in
comparison with the number of men
who have been trained and become
expert, the total is surprisingly small