Evening star., 1946-08-24
Pilot Says Russians
Force Down Planes
Flying Over Poland
By Robert G. Durhom

NEW YORK, Aug. "a (N.A.N.A)-
Aircraft of foreign nations are being
forced down on sight in Europe to-
day, according to Olen Cupp, an
American pilot for Scandinavian Air
Lines, who arrived here on trans
ocean fight. He asserted in an ex-
elusive interview that few planes
can fly over those areas of Poland
still occupied by the Russians with
out being made to land
BY way of example. Mr.. Cupp re-
counted a personal experience when
he was on a routine flight from
Prague to Stockholm, flying the reg
ular commercial route, early in July
He was plotting a Bit, remodeled
by the Swedes as passenger air
liner, which was clearly marked
with Swedish insignia.
Il was flying along at about 5000
feet over Poland he said, when
suddenly noticed Russian fighter
plane off my left wing tip. l looked
over to the right, and there was an
other Russian interceptor 1t was a
weird feeling to see the red stars on
those planes out there. All at once
/ noticed that the pilot of one of
the planes was motioning to me to
land, I played dumb and waved to
him. At this, both planes peeled off
and made attack runs on my ship
though without firing.
pijnf ShaEaS HE Fist
II turned off the automatic pilot
Immediately and headed for a large
black thunder cloud, hoping to lose
them. But when l emerged on the
other side, they were still with me-
The pilot of one of the planes then
few so close that 1 could see his
face. He shook his fist at and
again pointed down.
BY this time my passengers were
becoming alarmed, and l couldn't
take any chances; so I throttled
back and began to descend Just
then l saw another cloud and
ducked into it. l used an old Air
Corps maneuver. Jamming my
throttles full open, I turned As de-
grees to the right and flew along
for minutes, then turned back on
course.
When l came out OF the cloud.
the Red fighters were gone
1t is common knowledge among
pilots for European airlines that
new Russian commander came into
the Polish area in June and issued
ORDERS to his fighter planes to force
down any foreign plane flying over
the territory of his command. This,
despite the fact that the regular
commercial air route-agreed to by
all concerned-croSses this region.
Several planes have been brought
down, to my personal knowledge,
and the crews and passengers have
been held overnight-indeed, in
some cases, for as long as a week
while everything in the plane was
gone over and recorded by the Rus
slams"
Must Stay in Paths.
Commercial air routes have been
established in Europe by agreement
between the various nations. These
paths" are carefully plotted and
pilots have strict orders to remain
within them: when this is done, all
planes are supposed to have free
passage.
In the Berlin area, Mr.. Cupp said.
there is only one narrow corridor to
the fields used by Britain and Amer
lca-and any plane wandering off
course is subject to antiaircraft fire
from the ground" The Russians say
they fear that planes are taking
pictures. Whatever the reason, the
Berlin area-in the Soviet zone. but
under four-noWer administration
Is generally considered strictly un-
safe" by commercial pilots.
Mr.. Cupp, former major in the
Army Air Forces, was one of the
first flyers assigned to the Burma
hump" route OF air transport COM
mand during the war. He was later
sent to Europe as operations officer
for Col. Bernt Balchen, the Arctic
nyer, who was conducting aerial
operations in Scandinavia for the
office of Strategic Services. A slow.
easy-going Texan, Mr.. Cupp won the
Distinguished Flying Cross and
other decorations He now is a senior
pilot for Swedish Air Lines.