Glad to be Wrong

In the enormous expansion of the U.S. Army Air Forces beginning in 1942, old-time airmen felt sure they could see trouble ahead. It seemed inconceivable that inexperienced pilots could be rushed into hot new aircraft without sending accident rates skyhigh. Last week the oldtimers could congratulate themselves that they had been wrong.

The Army's accident rate had gone down, not up. It was .11% lower per 1,000 hours flown in the first eight months of 1942 than it had been in the ten years from 1930 to 1940, when the Air Corps prided itself on being a smart, seasoned outfit. The fatality rate had gone up, but only by a whisker: .014%.

For keeping military flying reasonably safe, the Air Forces could thank close command and the painstaking safety education of its fledglings (TIME, Nov. 30). In 1942's first eight months, Army airmen flew almost twice as far as they did in the ten years ending in 1940.

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