Three is a charm
Aviation is a fascinating industry.
Not only is it in my humble opinion the most aesthetically pleasing industry around, it is also subjected to the most spectacular forces and fantastic risks. On a daily basis.
Don't get me wrong, I love flying, it's just that things have changed..
The perils of aviation have over the years become somewhat of a rare commodity, at least compared to the adventures travelers experienced a hundred years ago. This is something which is rather neatly encapsulated by Harold C. Brinsmead, the head of Australia's Civil Aviation Department in the early days of commercial aviation.
More precisely, in 1931.
Brimsmead took a flight from London in order to arrive swiftly and safely in Australia, and thereby demonstrate the reliability of modern airplanes to his fellow countrymen. The plane from London flew elegantly for approximately thirty seconds, then crashed, still during take- off. No one was seriously hurt but the plane was written off and no replacement plane could be found. Instead, Brimsmead boarded a flight with another carrier, the new Dutch airline KLM. This flight almost instantly, with admirable devotion and elegance, also crashed while taking off. This time, five people were killed and Brainsmead suffered injuries of which he never recovered. Instead, he died two years later, never making it to Australia.
Meanwhile, the surviving passengers of the KLM flight, determined to reach their destination, carried on in a new replacement flight. This plane instead chose to crash during landing, effectively killing the remaining survivors of the two previous crashes.
Brings a little perspective to modern dilemmas of flying doesn't it.
Not only is it in my humble opinion the most aesthetically pleasing industry around, it is also subjected to the most spectacular forces and fantastic risks. On a daily basis.
Don't get me wrong, I love flying, it's just that things have changed..
The perils of aviation have over the years become somewhat of a rare commodity, at least compared to the adventures travelers experienced a hundred years ago. This is something which is rather neatly encapsulated by Harold C. Brinsmead, the head of Australia's Civil Aviation Department in the early days of commercial aviation.
More precisely, in 1931.
Brimsmead took a flight from London in order to arrive swiftly and safely in Australia, and thereby demonstrate the reliability of modern airplanes to his fellow countrymen. The plane from London flew elegantly for approximately thirty seconds, then crashed, still during take- off. No one was seriously hurt but the plane was written off and no replacement plane could be found. Instead, Brimsmead boarded a flight with another carrier, the new Dutch airline KLM. This flight almost instantly, with admirable devotion and elegance, also crashed while taking off. This time, five people were killed and Brainsmead suffered injuries of which he never recovered. Instead, he died two years later, never making it to Australia.
Meanwhile, the surviving passengers of the KLM flight, determined to reach their destination, carried on in a new replacement flight. This plane instead chose to crash during landing, effectively killing the remaining survivors of the two previous crashes.
Brings a little perspective to modern dilemmas of flying doesn't it.
posted by mbolo at 1:19 PM
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