World War II Database

1.  David Stubblebine says:
13 Jul 2008 11:19:06 AM

The full story here (and this photo shows it the best) is that Francom was picked to test the flight characteristics of the TBM with wing-mounted radome because he was the Torpedo Squadron's senior non-commanding aviator. When the experimental radom was mounted and the stbd wing-tip was being replaced, the aileron cables were reversed when they were re-connected. This made the ailerons go both-up or both-down instead of one-up and one-down like they were supposed to. This reversal rendered the plane un-flyable and this result inescapable. This set of photos (and this one in particular) helped Francom avoid a finding of 'Pilot Error' for this event. Francom went on to fly numerous combat sorties before becoming the personal pilot for an admiral. He had a very productive post-war career as an advisor to the Rand Corporation, among other things.

2. Anonymous says:
12 Oct 2021 05:35:21 AM

Sir - the avoidance of a Pilot-Error assessment seems generous on the part of the assessing body - any pilot should check the basic workings of his machine prior to flight - correct, full and free movement of controls is one of those basic checks.......

3.  David Stubblebine says:
12 Oct 2021 12:01:50 PM

Anonymous (above):
I think you would be completely correct had this event happened today in the civil aviation setting. In carrier operations during wartime conditions, things were much different. Readying the aircraft for flight was the crew chief’s responsibility and the pilot does little more than jump in and go. Additionally, the story of this flight was told to me by the pilot himself who was an old-time Navy flier and was not above a sea-story or two, so some of the details he relayed may be a few degrees off from true north.

4. Chris says:
4 Jul 2023 05:25:30 AM

I don't know how it differed in 1944, but even in modern carrier operations the burden is not entirely on the pilot. The flight deck crew in conjunction with the pilot are responsible for this check before launch.

In modern carrier operations as the aircraft is lining up to launch, the pilot is instructed to "wipe" the controls, which involves a series of inputs to the stick and pedals to ensure that all of the control surfaces move freely and correctly. Flight deck crew are posted around the aircraft so that, collectively, there is a complete 360-degree view of the aircraft and all control surfaces. As the inputs are made, the crew is collectively checking for anything unexpected, such as a situation in this photo where both ailerons were moving in the same direction (both up or both down). If something was noticed the launch would be scrubbed and the aircraft would undergo troubleshooting or even taken out of service if it was something that couldn't be resolved reasonably quickly.