Evening star., 1948-01-03
Board S Report Urges
Pilot Retirement Plan,
Airline Safety Staffs
By W. H. Shippen, Jr.
Aviotion Editor Of The Stor

Aviation Editor OF The Stor
A retirement plan for pilots, ap-
pointment of fulltime airline safety
staffs and other organizational
changes for air carriers were recon-
mended to President Truman in
final report released last night from
four member of his special Board
of Inquiry on Air Safety. along with
dissenting report from a member
chosen from the airline industry,
While concurring in Sc safety
recommendations made in five pre-
liminary reports, NJ w. Arnold,
vice president of the Air Transport
Association, objected to the retire
ment suggestion and other broad
proposals on the ground these
matters properly should be taken up
by the Presidents Air Policy Com
mission and the Congressional Air
Policy Board.
The 125-page report was delivered
to the White House Tuesday after
noon a few hours before President
Truman let it be known that the
chairman of his special Safety
Board, James M. Lands, would not
be reappointed as chairman of the
Civil Aeronautics Board when his
term expired on Wednesday.
Retirement Stand Blamed.
Friends of Mr.. Lands and the
Air Line Pilots Association. an AFL
group which has advocated an in
dustry-wide retirement plan, be-
lieve the chairman's insistence on
a retirement recommendation in the
final report won him enemies among
air line officials and helped to block
his reappointment.
While David l.. Behncke, president
of the pilots union. charged the
dissenting report was -in-the-
back" on the part of the industry,
Mr.. Arnold declared he had not dis
cussed his decision with ATA off,
cials and had arrived at it as a
private citizen serving at request
of the President.
In addition to the retirement
recommendation as a morale factor
in the interest of public safety, the
four majority members made sug-
gestions for preventing and COM
batting fires, the manufacture, MAIN
tenance, inspection and repair Of
aircraft; pilot and mechanic train
ing and efficiency, and the need for
Federal research and development
and larger Federal participation in
the planning and manufacture Of
advanced types Of commercial
transports.
Boards's Other Members.
Other members of the Safety
Board, appointed last June at Mr..
Lands suggestion after three dis
astrous air crashes in few weeks,
we're DR.. J. C. Hunsaker, director Of
the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics: Civil Aeronautics
Administrator T. P. Wright, and
Capt. H. B. Cox, veteran American
Airlines pilot, and member of the
Air Line Pilots Association.
The report Of the Presidents Air
Policy Commission already has been
submitted to the White House and
will be released shortly, while the
congressional group is preparing its
own report for submission to Con-
gress at the next session.
Many earlier recommendations Of
the Presidents Safety Board al
ready have been put into effect, in
cluding changes in procedure and
equipment. The final report, how,
ever, pointed out that improvement
in air safety is continuing prob
lem" involving both mechanical and
human factors and calls for broader
action than the specific corrections
suggested last summer.
Prompter Repairs Urged.
Other changes recommended in
airline procedures include more
authority for company inspectors,
prompter repair work called for on
the "gripe sheets" Of pilots and
special certificates for mechanics
who repair radio and electronic
equipment.
Pilot proficiency, morale and
training were treated in a separate
section Of the final report. 1t was
recommended that airlines provide
more opportunity for on-the-jeb
training of co-pilots under adequate
supervision.
Linking pilot morale with safety,
the majority members of the board
noted the short working life of
pilots, owing to stringent physical
requirements, and urged favorable
consideration of adequate retirement
and disability pension systems with
out saying what type of system
should be adopted
Mr.. Lands was strongly in favor
of this improvement, he said, for
the same reasons which convinced
Congress the Railroad Retirement
Act would be in the interest of public
safety.
The board found, among other
things, no reason ito warrant any
change in the fairly unanimous
opinion that use of parachutes On
passenger transports would be un-
desirable as well as impractical"
Jump Dicipline" Cited.
1t was pointed out that parachut-
ing is an art and that Jump disci-
pline" maintained on military air.
craft would be impossible on COM
mercial planes where passengers
vary from infants in arms to elder.
ly persons
/ The board developed a consider
able portion of its reports TO the
elimination of fire hazards and the
development of special safety fuels
and liquids for air-borne hydraulic
systems. It also asked that the
CAB reach an early decision ON
the desirability of requiring a flight
engineer as an additional member
of the crew on four-engine aircraft.
Rotionine HoIts in Crisis
Because hoarders have ESCAPED
the clutches of the authorities, the
I