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Charlie Bellman:
Arrival: A
newspaper
article
From the clipping files of: Antonia T. Tiger From "The Island Birdwatcher: Special Edition"
Bad Food Warning After
Mailplane Alert
For the last several weeks, the airmail run from Rain Island to Spontoon, via Tillamook, has been the routine work of a Dornier 24, on lease to Rain Island from the Royal Dutch Navy's Naval Air Service in the Dutch East Indies. Several pilots have commented on the experimental colour scheme, which does seem to make the 'plane hard to see over open ocean. Today was different. Instead of the almost sleepy normalcy of the early-morning arrival, after a laconic pre-dawn radio message there was a full call-out of the emergency boats, both Rain Island and Spontoonie. It's better to be prepared, they say, and by the time the Dornier came into sight everything was ready. Except for volunteer ambulances, every water taxi was safely docked. Whatever went wrong, the people of the Spontoons were ready to do their utmost. What followed was almost an anti-climax. The Dornier landed easily and taxied to the Moon Island piers. Several unidentified forms were stretchered ashore and rushed to the Naval Hospital. Some three hours later, the following press statement was released: "While in transit from Tillamook to Spontoon, last night, most of the crew of the Dorner 24 mail plane were afflicted by a mystery illness. The cause is not yet known, but a warning has gone out to all Rain Island aviation syndicates that pilots and co-pilots should not eat identical meals before a flight. "Apart from the chance of the third pilot, Ensign Catriona MacDonald, not being afflicted by the illness, the flight carried three passengers who were available to provide invaluable help. In particular, The Lady Helen Todd, sister of the Duke of Stepney, a private pilot, was able to fly the plane while Ensign MacDonald checked the navigation. "It would be invidious not to mention the nursing care provided by the Dowager Duchess of Stepney, while Mr. Charlie Bellman, newly posted to the British Embassy here, presented us with a model of clear radio-telephony in an emergency. "Ensign Macdonald has stated that, were she flying without help, and so unable to check the wind changes in the night, all on board might be dead, making another mystery of the airways." That's good advice about meals for you pilots. We understand that Lady Helen was well-known in English aviation circles, before the death of her father; a real party girl unless she was expecting to fly the next day. We're told she doesn't panic, and was always meticulous about checking her plane and the weather. As for Charlie Bellman, one of the people in Spontoon Control told us he kept using the old British Army lingo, but it wasn't a problem. He kept very calm and clear. According to the Embassy he's posted to the Consular division, so some of you Brit pilots will likely have him holding your hands in court after the next party at Mahanish's. The crew are making a good recovery, and the plane is ready to fly back to Rain Island as soon as they are. The Postal Syndicate is making arrangements to cover the expected gap, so the mail will get through. as excerpted from The Island Birdwatcher, Spontoon Island Independencies |