Show SAFEST WAY Pilot Sets Safety Mark NEW YORK Shorty Clark will tell you that flying is the safest way to travel He should know he flew for 33 years and never had an accident At the age of 60 he retired as a pilot for tor Pan American World Air Air- ways In the 33 years of flying including in in- including including 13 in the navy Clark flew more than hours Statisticians estimate he covered more than 3 miles And in all that time he never had an accident nor has any passenger ever so much as suffered a scratch He insists however that theres there's nothing unusual about his record He says there are a lot of pilots who fly just as carefully and safely as ashe ashe ashe he does Most accidents he says are caused by carelessness The best safety precaution is for a pilot to follow ollow every instruction of the CAA and the air line Especially never be afraid to turn back Warned by Passenger On one flight a passenger noted oil leaking over a wing whig Clarks Clark's in in- instruments instruments instruments soon showed the leakage and he immediately turned back to the airport he had taken off oU from fromI fromI fromI I probably could have made it to where we were headed he says but the regulations say make for forthe forthe forthe the nearest airport when something goes wrong I didn't try to make it but turned right around and went back Other safety rules that Clark feels are necessary and proper are the cockpit checkup no overloading and figuring out a point of no return The cockpit check up is s a form for the pilot and pilot co-pilot to make a take pre check on all equipment He remembers one domestic air airliner airliner airliner liner that cracked cr up when the controls con con- controls controls locked and he feels pretty sure that the pilot should have dis dis- discovered discovered dis- dis discovered covered that if hed he'd made a proper cockpit checkup Overloading Is Dangerous Overloading he says is a I mistake If anything goes wrong I you dont don't stand a chance in an over over- overloaded overloaded overloaded I loaded plane That's what caused i the crash of That hat plane from Puerto Rico last year The pilot couldn't get back down because his plane was overloaded The point of no return is a spot plotted by the navigator beyond which the plane cant can't go back where it started with the gas it carries Its It's important to know that so the plane can go back if any any- anything anything anything thing goes wrong Clark thinks the Bermuda Sky Queen which was lost at sea ran into head winds and couldn't make the trip The pilot should have turned back be be- before before before fore he reached his point of no re re- re turn Now that hes he's retired Shorty Clark isn't going to loaf Hes He's ap ap- applied applied ap- ap applied plied for a safety with the CAA and as a retired navy warrant officer he wouldn't be sur sur- surprised surprised surprised at a call from Uncle Sam Loafing is a fine art says Clark and I dont don't have the talent for tor it |