Evening star., 1937-02-14
Mechanic May Lose
Job for Passing
Poor Motor.
By Guy NeweH.


IITwo twenty-five to Newark"
It Is the pilot Of an air.
line transport plane calling
n on his radio. At the New
ark airport, the operator has Just
picked up his microphone to call an
other plane for its regular scheduled
report. He therefore tries to get 222
to wait moment, answering Newark
to 222; minute; schedule"
But 222 will not be put OF. Before
the Newark operator can make his
scheduled call, 222 comes in again,
and there Is a snappy sharpness in his
voice.
Emergency 222 to Newark, emer-
gency!"
That is enough for the Newark
operator. He snaps into action. "All
stations stand BY" he radios. "Emer-
gency! Newark to 222, go ahead"
Landing Scranton account left
motor"
Newark to 222: message received.
Newark phoning Scranton to stand by
for emergency landing"
That is all. No furry, no excite
ment in the voice Of the airplane pilot
nor in the voice of the radio operator
at Newark; it sounds little different
from the routine business Of the air.
line radio. Few outsiders would guess
that lives are in very great danger,
nor that every Office along that airline
has been thrown into a turmoil.
PUT if you were in the cockpit Of
that plane, or even in the pas.
senger cabin, you would know that
the danger was very real The smooth,
rolling hum of motors has taken on
a slight vibration, increased steadily,
and suddenly broken out into a grind
ing, roaring deluge of noise Then
it is cut of sharply to deafening si-
lence as the pilot shuts of the igni.
tion.
The plane lurches, swerves, noses
down. The hairs tingle and crackle
at the back of your neck and all down
your spine. Then your heart settles
back into place as you see that the
pilot is gaining control, pulling the
plane gradually back into flying posi-
ton; but pictures continue to fash
through your mind, unpleasantly vivid
pictures of crashing airplanes.
Meanwhile, the telephone operator
at Newark is rushing calls, checking
long-distance connections. hearing
bits of conversation as she checks
those hurried connections:
Scranton police? Send fire appa-
ratus
She throws her button from that
connection to plug in the frantically
flashing light of the flight superinten.
dent: Il want the hangar Chief,
put any ship that is ready on the line.
Two mechanics -
She answers two rush calls for the
traffic department. then cuts back In
on the flight superintendent's wire,
and hears, q. bring in 222's log
book. We want the names of the
mechanic and inspector who signed
for that engine"
There is the point: Who signed
o. K. for that engine?
COME mechanics job and some in
spector's job are in the frying pan,
ready to Jump into the fire, until q
thorough investigation has been made.
And the log book knows the names
of both men. Every part of the en-
gine (of the whole airplane. for that
n1atter) has had a routine inspection.
has been cleaned. oiled and adjusted
where and when needed, and has been
marked o. K. in the log book by the
mechanic who did the job. Then, it
has been inspected and tested again
and signed o. K. by an inspector.
Probably the engine failure is no
fault Of theirs; and if that is so, the
investigation will prove it was due to
defective or overstrained material, and
the trouble will be traced back through
the manufacturer. The first result
will be an inspection of every airplane
engine owned by that company and
other companies, in an effort to pre-
vent another similar failure.
If the investigation shows any least
doubt of thorough job on the part
of the mechanic or the inspector, right
then and there he starts digging
bitches or selling vacuum cleaners.
He is all through in aviation. Me-
chanics know this, believe that it is
the right way, and very, very few of
them have been forced out of avia-
ton for carelessness or negligence.
That is the reason that you can
listen for months and months on the
airline radio and never hear that call,
emergency"