The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-03-18

where the. engine stops suddenly
and 1naccountably and the pilo'
must come down, no matter wher'
he may. be. If good field Il
available. he can usually land safe
ly. IL he IL over mountains or for
ests. disaster will probably result
with good, reliable engines TIL:
cause Of accident can almost %
eliminated.
Tail Spins Cause Deaths 4.
What are known as tail spins arr
another fruitful cause of accidents
These are due to two things ach
Of training on the part OF the pilot
and unsafe airplanes.
Collisions In the air take Ger
tain percentage Of the men. These
may be due to lack Of training, OF
to some bad feature of the airplane
such as poor visibility, where thu
construction OF the plane is such
that many blind angles exist. max
ing 1t extremely difficult for the
pilot to see approaching planes II
all directions.
Bad landings are another cause
where a HniscaIcuIation by the pilc'
is so great as to cause an accident
improved landing gears on air
planes and shock absorbing devices
will greatly reduce the hazard.
Stating, or losing speed. may
cause a fatal accident. 1t may "
the fault OF poor airplanes as wei
as from. lack OF proper training
Sometimes an airpIane falls on ae
count OF structural defects-fo'
example, a wing comes off.
Sometimes Faint In Air
Occasionally a pilot faints in thS
air and crashes. but our medical
men, flying doctors or flight surg
cons as they are called, are usually
able to detect physical defects
which cause this. II they were
given sufficient authority, the5
could almost eliminate it.
Contrary to popular beiief
acrobatics, or what people think Of
as stunts. do not kill many pilots
They are necessary military
Hnaneuyers. No man is a compel
emit pilot unless he knows how e
extricate his plane from any posi-
ton it Is thrown into. whether i
is on its side. upside down, stand
Ing straight up on its tail, or DIVING
straight down on its nose, because
not only do these positions become
necessary In combat with an
enemy, but they are liable to occur
while flying through "a severe
storm, or an unforeseen acciden'
may instantly throw a plane out
of control temporarily.
All this talk one hears about the
prevention of stunts is entirely be
side the point. OF course, exhibition
flights at very low attitudes over
crowds, merely for the purpose OF
providing thrills, should be reRu
lated and great precautions taken
because here in case Of engine
failure there is imminent danger Of
someone's being hurt.
Additional Compensation
On account of the risks they run
flying officers are given additiona
compensation by the Government
This extra pay has always been c
sore point with the other services
They do not seem to consider tina
an air officer in flying around tho
country is put to much more ex
pense than is incurred in the nor
NAL activities Of officers Of Other
branches; even their clothing 4:
used up more quickly, from work
ing around greasy airplane engines
machine guns, bomb racks and Other
instruments. The average insur
ance company will not insure theil
lives.
Each year the General Staff of TIN
Army >devises a new scheme fol
stopping tho extra pay to aviator
and had we not taken drastic actor
this year with Congress the result
would have been accomplished. All
men are poorly enough recompensec
as it is. considering the risks they
run and the protection they affort
the country. The actual percentag.
of fatalities and the unnecessary
hazards our men must labor under
have not been published and mad,
plain to the people, SO they could
fully realize conditions.
Our Air Force should be removed
from the control Of the Army, so the,
could get adequate rewards for tho
work they do, and adequate pro
vision for their necessities, instead
Of being tied UP to a non-progressivt
military force, which is the status Of
armies in all countries but particu
larIy true of the Army Of the United
States.
Copyright, 1926. by the Bell
Syndicate)
The next Mitchell article viii
appear exclusively I'm The Washing
ton Times on Thursday