Carrizozo news., 1918-06-28

running IN automobile II for the skilled uolor'st
so far ms the machine and his conuoi 0, u ",lu
The medium through which or upon when ne
,noves are concerned But the unreliabllly OF
the human mechanism must still be reckoned
with and that uhrelinbty seems 10 ne greh'er
I'm the air than II Is upon the ground IL some
times results In strange and unexpected hhppeh-
ings.
Once In n while n man In the best OF heath
and the pink Of condition, who has passed with
high success every one OF the severe tests to
which aviation candidates nre subjected who mas
never tainted before IN his life, Will faint whhe
he is in the air. One recent fatal accident at a
Texas field Is supposed to have been due to that
cnuse
One pilot falnted and the plane fell to the
earth but neither he nor the student with him
was hurt except for few scratches and cuts.
He said that he did not know why he tainted.
All that he knew was that he suddenly lost con-
sclousness, and did not regain II until he was
being hnuled out OF the wrecked airplnne. He
had never tainted before In his life.
Neither had another young fellow. to whom
everything suddenly became blank as his ma
chine was sailing away through the blue. II was
still smiling along easily when presently he came
to himself again with the feeling that something
had happened TO him. Looking down. he could
see that he had covered n considerable distance
since the moment when he had lost consciousness.
He does not know why he tainted any more than
he knows why he did not spin downward to prob
able death during those blank moments
British surgeon attached to the relay naval
air service DR. II. Graeme Anderson who has had
extensive experience nt British flying stations
has recently written interesting conclusions
concerning these somewhat obscure causes Of
arplane accidents AZ trimming schools.
In the opinion OF Doctor Anderson, based upon
study and comparison OF the statements made TO
him I'm such cnses by n hundred student flyers
there is brain fatigue not due to previous men
tai or physical strain that may yet cause serious
accidents. He thinks II s induced by the Impact
Of overwhelming sensations upon the mind of
the pupil after he Is In the air The flying pupil
who n overcome by this form Of fatigue, says
Doctor Anderson "reaches the stnge where he
has the power neither TO reason, decide, nor act
state OF mental inertia supervenes. This is due
20 repented stimuli received by his brain IN rnpld
succession in his flight He feels alone; a sue
cesslon Of errors occurs IN the air; he feels he
cannot manage 10 control the arplnne fear does
not seize him, but the enormity OF the whole
thing nppalls him; he feels helpless, and state
Of brain fntigue occurs In which he, In n stupor,
awaits events and tnkes little part In the air
planes control"
This form OF brain fatigue would seem to be
largely n result OF personal temperament Doctor
Anderson thinks II responsible for "a fair pro-
portion Of accidents" among students In the early
stages Of flying, and he adds that student avla.
tors who have suffered from H. II they escnpe
injury are likely TO give up flying.
There are many, many OF the unImportnnt ac-
cidents, OF which nobody tnkes heed. But OF
fatal accidents, Notwithstanding the concern over
them manifest Ia some parts OF the country the
pcfcertage Is no greater than should be expected
Ia less than IN the flying schools OF some other
CT ntries, and Is not higher than II ls IN almost
: extra a-haznrdous occupation. And when Il IL
remembered That this latter comparison brings
together figures representing men IN the trimming
stage with those Of skilled workers Il Is evident
both that nylng Is safer game than /, has the
credit Of being. and that Il viii be good plan
for the country TO guard ngnnst hysterin over
the fatalities that do occur