The Washington times., 1918-02-21
CAUSES Of FALLS
AMONG STUDENTS
q IN AIR SERVICE

The Journal Of the Royal Naval
Service discusses this month the re-
port Of a committee OF investigation
OF the aeropIane accidents which are
described from time to time in the
newspapers. Casualties in actual
fighting are ruled out. the object Of
the committee being to elucidRte as
far as possible the causes OF acci-
dents during the training OF ayiators.
II is certainly gratifying to note that
the curve OF accidents is declining,
and, as the committee says, From
these figures one can see that school
flying is fairly safe and compares
favorably with other high velocity
forms OF transit" In fact IN Two
years Of school work one member OF
the committee records that he saw
three fatal accidents occur in about
zoo crashes, a small ratio indeed.
Steady Improvement.
There has been a steady improve
ment. In the early days Of flying
there were admittedly many acct
dents, owing first to structural weak
nesses in the aeroplanes and second
ly to the fact that the pioneer pilots
had TO experiment. Many OF the fac
tors governing aerial navigation were
unknown or imperfectly understood
When experience came and skilled
aviators began to teach pupils, when
the improvements in the construction
of aeroplanes increased, accidents
diminished in number proporuonately.
But on the other hand many more
people took up flying, so that the
total of accidents was increased.
The pre-war methods Of teaching
were slow and sure, the first solo
flights were made in stages and after
long instruction, which tended TO
obviate accidents altogether. As the
war advanced and the importance OF
aviation was recognized more pilots
were needed and the methods OF
teaching had to be accelerated; after
a few hours dual control instruction
pupils were sent off to do their hrst
solo flights. Naturally many more
accidents occurred, and as nowadays
practice is on faster and more power
ful machines accidents relatively in
creased. But every accident teaches
something new and all should be in
vestigated thoroughly so that a pre-
yentable cause or error can be ellmln-
ated in the future. On these points
the Investigations of the Royal Aero
Club are a great novelty. They sup
plement the details of mechanics and
air forces.
Principal Causes.
The principal causes Of accidents
are: Defect in the aeroplane, error OF
Judgment in flying, loss Of head,
brain fatigue or lethargy, fear, physi-
cal illness, unavoidable causes. Au-
thorities cite as one OF the common
est examples of aeroplane accidents
engine failure just after leaving the
ground, when the pilot tries to turn
back to his original starting point
loses height in the turning, and in
trying to prolong his glide loses fly
ing speed, stalls and the aeroplane
falls to the ground out OF control
Speaking generally, there is an error
OF Judgment in these cases, and the
two together account for two out
OF every fifty crashes.
Error of Judgment alone is the
commonest cause OF accidents. being
responsible for about forty-four out
OF fifty-three crashes. It is difficult
TO account for these errors OF tudg-
ment In some cases IL may be due
to lack OF instruction In other
~sscs even after prolonged training
the pupiI NAV still mIsjudEe dis
tsnces. Occasionally the standard OF
vision is below normal, but the sur
prisins fact is established that in
many cases the pilots are physically
1T. with normal sight and balancing
power. Rarely the cause Is delayed
muscular reaction-slowness to re-
Spoud 10 the senses. All aNiatOrs
should be evamined with particular
attention to these matters, but good
eyesight and equilibrium will not al
WAYS save them. The pilot must not
lose Ills head.
Loss of Head"
Loss OF head occurs frequently and
is responsible for seven ont OF fifty
accidents Under the sudden strain
II an emergency the power 70 reason
and act in unison may lapse. and the
wrong decision is taken and followed
There is seldom time TO correct the
error made; seconds and even frac-
lions OF seconds count. Loss Of head
seems an entirely human falling. but
It Is closely allied to brain fatigue
and to fear.
In cases Of fatigue the pupil reaches
che stage where he has not the power
10 reason, decide, or act 4 state OF
mental inertia SupeTveues. Fatigue
10 largely caused by a succession Of
nervous strains. by an overwhelming
sense OF responsibility. BY unsuitable
food and habits. Fear is said to exert
very little influence, but there is good
ground for believing that the princi-
pal factors OF brain fatigue are con-
stitutional. Sometimes there is no
mental inertia: the accident occurs
from a lack OF mental balance, and
the wrong decision is taken and
acted on. Both loss OF head and fear
are Jointly responsible for a small