First Flight :Textbook in English for class X

F 3 Two Stories About Flying

PART 2 : Black Aeroplane By- Frederick Forsyth Module 2/2
• Introduction
Students, in the first part of the lesson we saw that the young seagull
was afraid of falling down. So it hesitated to fly. However, it’s not
that only a young chick can have problems with flying. At times even
a trained pilot may encounter serious problems after a successful
take off.
We often hear on TV or read in newspaper about plane crash or
mysterious plane disappearances. When we talk about mysterious
plane disappearances one name easily comes to our mind and that is
Bermuda Triangle (PPT). It is a loosely defined region in the western
part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircrafts and
ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
However, reputable sources dismiss the idea that there is any
mystery.
A pilot sometimes has to face unexpected problems while in the
middle of his flight. Air turbulences caused by a storm can be one of
the most serious challenges faced by any pilot. It may be because all
the equipment provided to him to carry out his duty safely may not
be of any use to him(PPT). What should a pilot do in such case? Does
he stand any chance to get rescued by a mysterious power ? The
lesson ‘The Black Aeroplane II’ by Fredrik Forsyth in ‘F 3 : Two
Stories About Flying’ provides the most mysterious answer to the
second question.
• About the author:
Frederick Forsyth, born on 25 August 1938, is an English
author, journalist, former spy, and occasional political
commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as ‘The Day of
 the Jackal’, ‘The Odessa File’, ‘The Fourth Protocol’, ‘The Dogs
of War’, ‘The Devil's Alternative’, ‘The Fist of God’, ‘Icon’,
‘The Veteran’, ‘Avenger’, ‘The Afghan’, ‘The Cobra’ and ‘The
Kill List’.

The story under discussion narrates how a pilot gets caught in a

storm while on his way to England in his Dakota aeroplane and how
he is helped by a mysterious black aeroplane (PPT).
• The story in brief:
It was night time when the sky was clear and the stars could be
seen twinkling. The narrator, who was flying his Dakota
aeroplane, felt happy while he was flying over France to
England. It was half-past one in the morning and he was
fantasizing about holidaying with his family.
When the aeroplane was in France, the pilot thought of
informing the Paris Control personnel about its presence and
for instructions. He informed the Control Agency and they
responded with further instructions on directions. The control
room at Paris instructed him to turn 12 degrees towards the
west.
After receiving the instructions, the narrator geared up and
followed the instructions of the control room and switched
over to the second and the last fuel tank. All this time, he was
dreaming about his time with his family and then, he started
thinking about having a satisfactory breakfast at home. He was
calm as everything was going as planned.
Now, the plane had crossed Paris when he started seeing
clouds in the sky. The presence of clouds made him feel uneasy
because there were chances of a storm. They were so huge and
dark that he compared them with “black mountains”. He knew
he couldn’t pass them as it was impossible to go above them or
escape them with the amount of fuel that was left in the last
tank. The right decision would have been to fly back to Paris
safely. But he was overwhelmed by his wish to meet his family.
He so desperately wanted to be with his family and have that
English breakfast he had been dreaming of all day. So he
decided to take the risk of not going back. Thus, he headed the
plane right into the storm.
It was so dark because of the storm that nothing was visible
outside the plane. He started losing control of the aeroplane.
The compass and other instruments had also stopped working
because of the bad weather. He became helpless.
He tried calling the Paris Control Agency who had helped him
earlier but couldn’t connect because of the weather. When
everything failed, he saw a ray of hope when he saw another
aeroplane. He felt relieved when he saw another pilot’s face
and willingness to help him escape the storm. He thought to
himself that the other pilot was very kind as he knew that he
was lost and was trying to help him.
The other pilot took his plane ahead of the narrator’s aeroplane
to make it easier for the narrator to follow him. The narrator
followed him like an “obedient child”. He was also panicked
because there was very less fuel left. It was only then that he
started coming out of the storm and could see the runway to
land his plane safely. When he turned to thank the other pilot,
he realised that the plane that helped him, had disappeared as
soon as he came out of the storm.
The author did not know where he had landed. After landing,
he left his plane and headed straight into the control room to
ask about the other pilot. To his utmost surprise, the lady
informed him that there was no other plane in the sky except
his because of the bad weather. He was left astonished with a
lot of questions unanswered in his mind.
• The story has mysterious elements. The narrator is caught up in
the storm clouds. All his instruments have stopped working. To
make the matter worse he has lost contact with Paris Control
room. No other aeroplane can be expected around in such a
bad weather. Suddenly a black plane appears on the scene
from somewhere. Strangely enough it has no lights on its wings.
The pilot of the black plane is guiding the narrator through the
storm as if he knew that the narrator was lost in the storm.
However as soon as the narrator comes out of the storm, the
black plane is nowhere to be seen in the sky. It has disappeared
as mysteriously as it had appeared. When he asks about the
pilot and the plane at the control room, he is informed by the
lady there that there was no other plane in the sky except his
flight that night because of the bad weather. The
corresponding extract from the lesson reads as:

“She looked at me very strangely, and then laughed.

Another aeroplane? Up there in this storm? No other
aeroplanes were flying tonight. Yours was the only one I could
see on the radar.”
The astonishment in the mind of the narrator demonstrated in
the following extract further deepens the sense of mystery. It
reads:
‘So who helped me to arrive there safely without a compass or
a radio, and without any more fuel in my tanks? Who was the
pilot on the strange black aeroplane, flying in the storm,
without lights?’
• Another important aspect of the story is the way in which the
narrator handles the dangerous situation. Though he was little
panicked to see himself in the middle of the storm with the fuel
tank running out of fuel, he shows tremendous presence of
mind and follows the black plane. He successfully comes out of
the storm clouds. It also shows that a brave person gets help
from somewhere or somebody. It tells us that we shouldn’t
loose the calm in difficult situation and should try to come out
of it bravely. It is because fortune always favours the brave.
I hope you have understood the story students.

Now on the basis of your understanding of the story solve the

questions in the worksheet attached with this module.

Thank you!