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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1835.PDF
1012 FLIGHT International, 18 June 1964 Don't Just Sit There- WORRY By N. J. Capper* All's well that ends well—comparatively speaking, at any rate. D.H.86 looked like after the landing described by Wg Cdr Capper What the THE old saying about the heart not grieving over what the eyedoesn't see is far from appropriate in aviation. Statistics inrecent years show that the striking of high ground by aircraft is by far the biggest single killer among the various kinds of accident and it is reasonable to assume that in practically every case the high ground has been obscured by cloud or darkness. Before suitable blind-flying instruments and equipment were developed, pilots found their way about by following landmarks. In bad weather this could be a hazardous business, and the more sensible ones used to say "No see, no fly." Though the first instruments were pretty basic, they nevertheless gave, either directly or indirectly, all the information that was needed, and pilots could climb safely through the overcast and get from one place to another clear of high ground. Finding their way there and getting down safely at the other end was often a problem; but radio, navigational and let-down aids were gradually developed. The instruments and the aids have improved, but aeroplanes are faster and more lethal than they were; and when they are flown into high ground it looks as though these instruments and aids are defeating their own object. It has always been, and still is, the duty of the captain to be aware at all times of the terrain beneath him and to make certain that there is plenty of room to spare until he is ready for a landing. Provided there is no failure of equipment, the blame for flying into high ground can almost always be put fairly and squarely on the man in charge. There may be extenuating circumstances, but errors are mostly due to some relaxation of attention or lack of self- discipline. Whatever the cause, the result is the same—something to be avoided at all costs. Many years ago I was faced with having to make a crash landing while still in cloud rather than risk flying into a hill. I can claim that my predicament was due to failure of equipment, because the air- craft was so badly iced up that it was barely airworthy (and, in any case, the insurance company afterwards exonerated me from blame). The bock end suffered even more than the front end, but the cabin—and the passengers—remained miraculously unscathed It was a matter of choosing the devil I didn't know rather than the one I did; and although it was only thanks to a near miracle that all on board survived, I am still satisfied that my decision was the right one. It was October 22,1935, and I was flying on the London - Budapest route for Imperial Airways; the aeroplane was a four-engined D.H.86. I had been in the Royal Air Force for five years, including three years of intensive cloud flying. I had spent six winter months on the Paris route with Hillman's Airways and eight months on the Budapest route with Imperials. I probably knew as much as anyone at that time about flying in cloud and the effects of ice accretion; but on that October day I was to learn a lot more. Like many other pilots I had been sticking my neck out by trying to keep regular schedules with inadequate equipment. I had left Budapest in the morning and made a routine stop at Vienna. The met. forecast there gave complete cover of low cloud for the first half of the route to Nurnberg and then fine weather. I saw that the freezing level was 1,000m to 1,500m; but when I questioned the forecaster about ice, he said "No ice—only snow." I had had some light rime ice the day before but it had given me no trouble, so 1 set off, satisfied that all I had to do was to climb to a safe height, set course and wait for the good weather at Nurnberg. At 2,000m I found a layer of clear air between cloud (the Germans have a word for it—Swischenschicht) and, being in the clear, I was getting no ice. All of a sudden the cloud above and below merged and immediately I got a very heavy build-up of ice on all leading edges. In a few minutes my airspeed indieator, directional gyro and artificial horizon went out of action, leaving me with turn indicator, compass and inclinometer. This was no great problem, as I had done many years of cloud flying with these alone, but the severity of the icing called for action. 1 turned through 180° to get back to my Swischenschicht and to sort myself out; but I never made it, because I couldn't maintain height and had to remain in cloud with the ice getting worse. My only hope then was to get back to the warmer air and the low ground near Vienna. In those days pilots had to select their own safety heights and allow some spare for inaccuracies on the maps. My radio operator (who came from Antrim and didn't care much for flying, even on fine days) tried without success to get bearings to fix our position; his lack of success was understandable, as our wind-driven generator often went unserviceable when subjected to moisture. I knew that to fly in that area at anything below 1,300m was extremely dangerous, as I had by now been in the air for well over two hours without any accurate check on my position. Attempts to maintain height were fruitless and the whole aircraft was shaking badly, so when I was down to 700m I decided it was no longei healthy to remain airborne. The prospect of landing in a forest, village, or whatever came first was unpleasant; but it was clear that this would be far better than flying smack into the side of a hill. I could almost see the juicy headlines in tomorrow's news- papers—except that there would be no tomorrow for me or the people with me. Though still in cloud, I could occasionally see the tips of trees • Wg Cdr Noel Capper, AFC, is flight manager and chief test pilot olScottish A viation Ltd. After RAF service in 1929-34 he was with Hillma P Airways and Imperial Airways and then joined Scottish Aviation, returningto them after five years' RAF war service. He is a member of the Guild o> Air Pilots and Air Navigators' Flying Instructors' Committee.
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