The Black Aeroplane

 

THE BLACK AEROPLANE

Q. Describe the sky when Dakota took off from Paris. (Board Term L 2012)

Ans. When Dakota book off from Paris, the sky was quite clear.  The moon was coming up in the east and the stars were shining.  There were no clouds in the sky.  The climatic condition was ideal.

Q. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk?  Why does the pilot of the old Dakota take it?  (NCERT [Board 2012)

Ans. The risk was of flying the old Dakota aeroplane into the storm. He took it as he wished to reach home as soon as possible and to be present at the breakfast table with his family in the morning. Thus he took the risk although the visibility in the storm was zero.

Q. What difficulties did the narrator face while flying in the storm? (Board 2012, 2016)

Ans.  The difficulties that the narrator faced were that all the instruments of his aeroplane stopped working.  He could not see any thing as there were dark clouds all around.  The radio became dead and the compass was turning round and round.

Q.  A pilot is lost in the storm clouds.  Does he arrive safe?  Who helps him?  (Board 2012)

Ans.  Yes the pilot arrives safe on the runway. He is helped by another pilot of a mysterious plane.  He vanish soon after the narrator landed at the airport. The pilot of the other plane guided him to a safe landing.

Q. What shocked the narrator after landing safely? (Board 2012)

Ans. The narrator was shocked to land safely after struggling against the black storm.  Besides, he wanted to thank the other pilot who showed him the way, but he was nowhere to be seen.  It was a sort of secret help of which no one was aware.

Q. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
An. As the pilot (author) entered the storm, his plane started jumping and twisting. He could not see anything outside the plane as it was black. When he looked at compass and other instruments they had stopped to function due to storm. It was a terrible and fearsome experience for him. The fuel tank was almost empty and he could not fly more than ten minutes. Then he saw another black aeroplane by his side and the pilot of the plane signaled him to follow. It was a surprise for the narrator as the other black plane was having no light. He followed him without any choice and landed safely on the runway.

Q. What made the woman in the Control Centre look at the narrator strangely?
Ans. The woman in the Control Centre looked at the narrator strangely because the narrator asked him about the black aeroplane and she saw no one except the narrator’s in the sky during the storm. Even the radar showed only the narrator’s plane that night in the sky.

Q. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Ans. It is very difficult to say about the unknown pilot who helped the narrator. But probably it was the narrator himself that helped him to overcome the fear in the storm as no other plane was seen in the radar except the narrator’s Dakota plane. In that fearsome situation, he might have been hallucinating. He himself was a good pilot and brave enough who helped himself land safely.

Long Answer type Question

Q. Wrtie a summary of the lesson ‘The Black Aeroplane’.

Ans. The story “Black Aeroplane” is about a pilot who feels happy and contended to fly over a city that is sleeping (at the night time). He is flying from Paris to London. While taking his flight, he dreams about the long holiday with his family. He also fantasizes about the scrumptious breakfast he would have upon landing. As soon as he crosses Paris, he gets a look of the dark clouds that were a sign of the upcoming storm. The right decision would have been to turn back to Paris for the sake of safety. But he being overshadowed by his dreams and not wanting to delay them, risks the life of his passengers and heads straight into the storm. Everything gets dark, he is unable to see, all his direction instruments stopped functioning and he lost control of the plane. When all hope was lost, he saw another plane whose pilot was more than willing to rescue them. The author was panicking as there was very less amount of fuel left. The anonymous pilot guided them out of the storm and disappeared as soon as they saw light.  Upon landing, when he asks the lady in the control room about the other pilot, he is left in shock when she says that his was the only plane in the sky.