Airmen's Intensive Training

AIRMEN'S INTENSIVE TRAINING

One Accident to Three Flights Round the Earth.

    The public, who have not always the information upon which to weigh the facts, have lately become somewhat alarmed at what at first sight appears to be a startling increase in the number of fatal accidents to flying men in training. During the month of August [1917] in the public Press the number of cases reported amounts to nearly a score, and on August 23 no less than six fatalities were recorded in one day.
    Mr. C. G. Grey, editor of the Aeroplane, in discussing the question with a Weekly Dispatch representative yesterday, said:
    "The only reason I can suggest for this apparent increase in the number of fatal flying accidents is that there is such an enormous number of young men learning and that instruction is being forced a bit. Young pilots go up nowadays under flying conditions which it would not be necessary to face in times when there is no war.
    "Really the number of accidents is not extraordinary if you compare the number of miles flown each week with the number of accidents three years ago. As a matter of fact the actual proportion of accidents is very much smaller. The proportion has been worked out at about one fatality for three times round the earth in flight.
    "Training is necessarily getting more intensive, but what we are losing by intensive training we are getting back in other ways. Very few of these accidents happen in the advanced training stage. It is very like training a lot of youngsters for a stiff examination. You can cram many of them as much as you like; a certain number are sure to have brain trouble. The only thing we can hope is that the authorities are doing all they can to reduce the number of accidents."

The Weekly Dispatch - Sunday, August 26, 1917