Out of the Cockpit

One of the last of the airlines' pilot-presidents was finally brought down to earth last week. He was J. H. ("Slim") Carmichael, 51, a lanky (6 ft. 4 in.), windburned throttle jockey who barnstormed, crop-dusted, and flew the early air mail routes before taking off in 1937 to help run what later became Capital Airlines. He piloted the line out of the red, turned tidy profits by introducing domestic coach fares, in 1954 brought U.S. aviation toward the jet age with British Viscounts. But while building Capital into a major competitor. Slim Carmichael also made himself a raft of troubles.

He first ran into stormy weather when Capital started losing money in 1956, partly because of its expensive turboprops, partly because of an inherently bad short-haul route structure that gave Capital none of the rich transcontinental market. But his biggest trouble was with Capital's general counsel and biggest stockholder (64,420 shares), Charles Murchison, 58, who looked askance at the way Carmichael ran Capital as a one-man air show, wanted more of a team operation. Last summer Murchison and his backers brought in Major General David H. Baker as president and chief executive officer (TIME, Aug. 5), moved Slim Carmichael up to board chairman. With little real authority remaining, Airman Carmichael finally quit, saying only that he left "for personal reasons." Probable choice to become Capital's next chairman: Lawyer Murchison.

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