Ghannel crossing by air has come to
b* regarded as both reasonably safe
and undoubtedly comfortable. Two
com uies. one French and one Eng
lish. v.perate the lines and use the
same terminals outside of London and
Paris. Every effort is made to safe
guard the flights. Telephonic connec
tions are constant between the two i
airdromes for reporting the last-min
ute weather conditions, and pilots, dur
ing the trip, are in radio communica
tion with both stations. Frequently,
however, when the report is "clear and
j favorable.” conditions change before i
the end of the journey, and that evi
dently is what happened yesterday,
inasmuch as the pilot attempted to
land just after crossing the Channel,
making no attempt to reach the air
drome at Croydon.
There should be nothing in this lat
est accident, shocking as it is, to dis
courage Channel crossing by air. It is
i the quickest and least tiresome
| method of making a tedious journey,
j I'ntil fog is conquered flying will al
• ways be hazardous. The same, how
■ nvrr. may he held true in the case of
! ocean travel by boat.
There is one thing, though, that
many air Channel crossers ardently de
sire before they take another trip of
this kind, and that is the substitution
of amphibian planes for the present
land planes. TheChanneel is a wicked
looking body of water to fly over, es
pecially with the thought that engine
trouble will cause a forced landing,
with little prospect of staying on the
| surface. This move will undoubtedly
I be made in time, and Channel flying
will become even more popular than
it is at present.
