The Black Aeroplane (Part II) | NCERT Book Class 10 English First Flight
Summary – The Black Aeroplane
It was night time when the sky was clear and the stars could be seen twinkling. The pilot felt peace in being above a country that had fallen asleep 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. At that time, lights from the Paris city were blaring at him. He informed the Control Agency to which they replied with further instruction on directions. The control room at Paris instructed him to turn 12 degrees towards the west.
After receiving the instructions, the pilot geared up and followed them while putting the last fuel tank into operation. All this time, he was dreaming about his time with his family and then, he started thinking about having a satisfactory breakfast at the destination point. 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 it unsafe to travel by air because there were chances of a storm. They were so huge and dark that the pilot 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 the pilot’s decision making was clouded 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, that he took 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. In the midst of nowhere, 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 is very kind as he knew that they were lost and was trying to help him.
The other pilot took his plane ahead of the lost aeroplane to make it easier for them to follow while the author followed him like an “obedient child”. He was also panicking because there was very less amount of 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 but was not afraid of leaving his plane unattended. He 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 is left astonished with a lot of questions unanswered in his mind.
Extra Question Answer
Q.1. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Answer. The “risk” here refers to not doing the right thing, which is flying back to Paris when he came to know about the storm. Despite being aware of the bad weather, the pilot headed straight into the storm and risked the lives of his fellow passengers. The pilot’s decision making was clouded 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, that he took the risk of not going back.
Q.2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Answer. The narrator was frightened (scared) as he lost control of the plane. He felt helpless as the compass and other instruments had stopped working. Nothing outside the aeroplane was visible when suddenly in the midst of nowhere, an unknown plane was visible and the pilot was eager to help him. The narrator was panicking because there was very less fuel left but somehow, he managed to escape the storm with the help of the strange pilot who he could not thank.
Q.3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?
Answer. The narrator had landed at an unknown place as his compass and radar had stopped functioning in the storm. He was not scared to leave the plane unattended and go to the control centre to inquire about the mysterious plane which had helped him out of the storm.
Q.4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Answer. The woman in the control centre looked at the narrator strangely when he asked about the other pilot that helped him escape the storm. This is because there was no other plane in the sky during such bad weather.
Q.5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Answer. It was the pilot’s own conscience which helped him out of the storm. There was no other plane out on that stormy night. So, probably, It was his own capability as a pilot which led him out of that black cloud.
Q.6. Explain the statement: ‘I was very happy to go behind the strange aeroplane like an obedient child.
Answer. The pilot came across huge storm clouds. He could neither go above them nor go around them due to lack of fuel. Then, he saw a black plane without lights on wings, flying near his plane. Its pilot waved and signalled him to follow him. The author did not have much choice but to follow him.
Q.7. Why did the pilot think of going back to Paris?
Answer. The pilot came across huge storm clouds that seemed to him like black mountains. He could neither go above them nor go around them due to lack of fuel. That was when he thought of returning to Paris.
Q.8. Which two options did the pilot of’ the Dakota plane have when he encountered the storm clouds on his way? What did he decide to do? Why?
Answer. The two options he had were: either to go back to Paris or to go through the storm clouds. He decided to go through the storm clouds because he wanted to reach home and spend the holiday with his family.
Q.9. Describe the black clouds from the point of view of the pilot.
Answer. The writer was going from France to England. He was flying his Dakota aeroplane. When he had gone 150 kilometres from France, he saw storm clouds. They were huge. They looked like black mountains standing in front of him across the sky.
Q.10. How did the black aeroplane rescue the first pilot?
Answer. The pilot of the black aeroplane waved his hand. He gestured the first pilot to follow him. The writer followed him. He followed the black plane for half an hour. Suddenly, his plane was out of the clouds. He could see the lights of the airport and landed his aeroplane. In this way, the black aeroplane rescued the first pilot.