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the flight operation, were rescued and, after recovering from injuries,were able to appear at the hearing and give some very pertinent testimony.
Captain Wilson testified that he proceeded to the pilots' compartment, where he was seated for a period of about ten minutes making the usual and necessary cockpit check before leaving the mooring for the take-off area. He stated that he checked, among other things, the engine switches, automatic pilot, trim tabs, flap selector switches, and the flap themselves. He stated further that in a talk with Captain Blair, America Export's chief pilot, a few days before leaving on this trip, Blair expressed himself as believing that in taking off with less than full gross load, "it would be a better policy" not to use flaps. On the subject take-off, the weight was about 6000 pounds under the allowable gross. Therefore, it was not the captain's intention to use any flap at all. He also stated that, "In taking off with 10° flaps, that is full gross take-off, the flap control switch is usually placed in the flight position. That is where I always place it, so that just one turn of the switch will have to be made an order to get the 10° flaps. When I am not using the flaps, however, I always make it a point to leave it in the off position."
When questioned regarding the position of the flap switch prior to the take-off, the captain testified, "The flap switch was in the off position and, at the beginning of the take-off, the indicator, which is right in front of the instrument panel, was in the zero position."
Prior to going aboard the aircraft, the captain had instructed First Officer Lindsay, who was the last person to embark, to personally see that the seating of all passengers prior to take-off was in accordance with
