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Under these circumstances it appears that Captain Boqua exercised reasonable care in determining whether his take-off area was clear.
Captain Boqua cannot be criticized for mistaking the tail light of the Braniff airplane for a temporary airport boundary light. The tail light was of the same color and very nearly the same size as the boundary lights, and the Braniff airplane was in such a position that its tail light appeared to Captain Boqua to be the last in a row of temporary boundary lights on the west side of the field. It was brought out at the hearing that the present type tail light of an airplane which is required by the Civil Air Regulations and International Regulations may be easily mistaken for an airport boundary light and that it my also be mistaken when in the air for a star. This difficulty had long been recognized, and a substantial amount of research and experimentation had been conducted. This work has been greatly accelerated as a result of this accident and a tail light which should easily be identified at night is being developed and is nearing readiness for a practical service test.
