Class 10 || Black Airplane by Frederick Forsyth ||

 

Black Airplane by  Frederick Forsyth

About the Author

Name of the writer of this chapter is  Frederick Forsyth . He was Born on  August 25, 1938 , in Ashford, UK.  He was awarded Edgar Prize Awards for Best Novel, Cartier Diamond Dagger.

 His famous play was Love Never Dies

 

Short Intro Of The Chapter

 

The story "Black Airplane" is about a pilot who feels happy and struggles to fly over a city that sleeps   (at night). Fly from Paris to London. While taking his flight, he dreams of a long vacation with his family. He also fantasizes about the delicious breakfast he would have upon landing. As soon as you cross Paris, he sees the dark clouds that were a sign of the next storm. The correct decision would have been to return to Paris for the sake of security. But being overshadowed by his dreams and not wanting to delay them, he risks the lives of his passengers and goes straight into the storm.

Everything goes dark, he cannot see, all his steering instruments stopped working and he lost control of the plane. When all hope was lost, he saw another plane whose pilot was quite willing to rescue them. The author panicked because there was very less fuel left.

The anonymous pilot guided them out of the storm and disappeared as soon as they saw the light. Upon landing, when he asks the lady in the control room about the other pilot, he is shocked when she says that hers was the only plane in the sky.

Key points for quick Revision

        i.        1-   A pilot of an old Dakota plane flies at midnight over Paris (France) to England.

2- Dreams of spending the holidays with his family.

3- He wants to have breakfast with his family in the morning.

4- Unfortunately, it passes through huge black clouds.

5- The compass, radio and other instruments were turned off.

6- Suddenly, he notices a black plane in front of him.

7- The pilot of the plane tells you to follow him.

8- He continues like an obedient child but in the meantime his fuel tank runs out.

9- Suddenly you notice a string of light on the ground.

10- It is an airstrip.

11- Land safely.

12- He goes to the control room and asks for the other plane. But he is dumbfounded to learn that no aircraft were detected on radar that night.

13- Many questions remain unanswered, mysterious, and unsolved.

14- Who helps you get there safely without a compass or radio, and with no more fuel in your tanks?

15- Who is the pilot of the strange black plane, flying in the storm, without lights?

                        The Black Airplane Lesson Summary

The author was flying his old Dakota DS 088 airplane over France. He was on his way to England. It was a beautiful full moon night. The sky was clear. The author was happy to possess a simple flight. He dreamed of meeting his family and having an honest breakfast when he got home. It was 1:30 am.

On his way he called the room in Paris and reported his flight and destination. The room warned him to show twelve degrees west. He checked the compass and other instruments and followed the instructions. He also switched to his second and last tank of fuel.

It was a clear sky and the pilot had a smooth flight. But suddenly, he saw huge storm clouds ahead of him. He couldn't fly over them because he did not have enough fuel. I could go back to Paris. But his eagerness to satisfy his family and eat breakfast prevented him from making this decision. He decided to take the risk. He flew his plane straight into the black clouds.

Everything was black within the clouds. You couldn't see anything outside the plane. He saw that his compass and other instruments had stopped working. He didn't know where he was or the way to get out of the clouds. I was lost in the storm.

Suddenly, he saw a black plane flying by his side. He was happy to ascertain another plane near him. The pilot of the black plane waved his hand and asked the author to follow him.

The author followed him like an obedient child. The black plane flew ahead of the Dakota for about half an hour. The Dakota's fuel was about to run out. The author felt scared again. His plane was only ready to fly for ten more minutes.

But soon the black plane began to fall and therefore the author landed safe and sound at an airport. After landing safely, the author wanted to thank the pilot of the black plane. He asked the lady within the tower about the second pilot. The woman replied that there have been no other planes within the sky that night.

The author was surprised and asked: "Who was the pilot of the strange black plane?"

The author couldn't meet the pilot of that strange black plane.