Black Aeroplan
1. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Ans: The risk was flying his old Dakota aeroplane directly into a massive storm of black clouds. The narrator decided to take this risk because he was homesick and eager to reach England to spend his holiday with his family. He specifically wanted to be there in time for a traditional English breakfast, and his desire to see his family outweighed his concern for safety.
2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Ans: It was a terrifying experience. As soon as he entered the clouds, everything went black, and he could see nothing outside the plane. The aeroplane began to jump and twist violently in the air. To his horror, his compass and other instruments, including the radio, stopped functioning. With very little fuel left, he was lost in the dark until a mysterious black aeroplane appeared. The pilot of that plane signaled him to follow, leading him through the storm until he safely reached the runway.
3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota”?
Ans: The narrator says this because the old Dakota had put his life in extreme danger. After the terrifying ordeal of the storm, the failing instruments, and the near-empty fuel tank, he felt a sense of immense relief to be back on the ground. He was not “sorry” to leave it because the plane had become a symbol of a near-death experience, and he was eager to find the person who had saved him.
4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Ans: The woman looked at him strangely because the narrator asked about the location of another pilot in a black aeroplane who had helped him. She was surprised because, according to her radar, the narrator’s Dakota was the only plane flying in the sky that stormy night. There were no other planes, and certainly no mysterious black one without lights.
5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans: There is no definitive answer, but it is likely that the “Black Aeroplane” was a hallucination or a projection of the narrator’s own subconscious. In a state of extreme panic and oxygen deprivation, his brain may have created a guide to help him stay calm.
Reasoning: The radar showed no other aircraft, and the black plane had no lights. This suggests that the narrator’s own skill and survival instinct as a pilot took over, and his mind “visualized” this help to guide him through the fear and land the plane safely.