Two Stories about Flying

Liam O'Flaherty introduces a young seagull stranded alone on a rocky cliff ledge, looking out over the vast, terrifying expanse of the green sea stretching miles below.

1.1 The Psychological Block of Self-Doubt:

His two brothers and his little sister, whose wings were far shorter than his own, had already run to the brink of the ledge, flapped their wings, and flown away with ease. Yet the young seagull was convinced that his wings would never support him. Whenever he ran to the edge and looked down at the sheer drop, terror seized him, and he retreated back to sleep in the little hole under the ledge.

1.2 Parental 'Tough Love' and Social Isolation:

His parents flew around calling to him shrilly, scolding him, and threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away. For twenty-four hours, nobody came near him. He watched his parents teaching his siblings how to skim the waves and dive for fish, even celebrating his older brother catching his first herring. Meanwhile, he remained an outcast, tortured by mounting hunger.

O'Flaherty demonstrates how fundamental biological necessity overcomes psychological paralysis.

2.1 The Mother's Masterful Strategy:

The young seagull feigned sleep on one leg, hiding the other under his wing, trying to evoke sympathy. His father preened feathers, his siblings dozed, but his mother stood on a plateau, tearing at a piece of fish. Maddened by the sight of food, he uttered a plaintive cry. His mother picked up a piece of fish and flew across towards him.

2.2 The Leap and Natural Flight:

When commanded to land on the 'green flooring' (the sea), his legs sank and he panicked. But as soon as his belly touched the water, he floated naturally without sinking. He had made his first flight!

Frederick Forsyth's narrator takes off at 1:00 AM on a clear, moonlit night in his vintage Old Dakota DS 088, flying from France to England, dreaming of a hearty English breakfast with his family.

3.1 Paris Control and the Coming Storm:

Checking his watch and compass, he radioed Paris Control, who advised him to turn twelve degrees west towards England. All seemed serene until he was roughly 150 kilometres past Paris. Suddenly, massive storm clouds loomed directly before him like 'huge black mountains standing across the sky'.

3.2 The Reckless Gamble:

The pilot faced a catastrophic dilemma:

• He could not fly over the clouds (insufficient altitude capability).
• He could not fly around them to the north or south (insufficient fuel in his secondary tanks).
• He ought to have returned to Paris, but longing for home and his English breakfast, he made the perilous decision: 'I'll take the risk.'

Just when death seemed inevitable, an extraordinary and eerie phenomenon materialized in the storm.

4.1 An Aeroplane with No Lights:

Suddenly, the pilot spotted another aeroplane flying close alongside him. Incredibly, it was completely black and had no lights on its wings, yet the narrator could clearly see the pilot's face turned towards him. The stranger lifted one hand and waved, signaling: 'Follow me! Follow me!'

4.2 Following an Obedient Child:

The Dakota pilot turned his aircraft northwards behind the strange black aeroplane, following it blindly like an obedient child. After half an hour, panic flared again: his last fuel tank held only enough fuel to fly for five or ten minutes more!

Relieved to be alive, the pilot walked immediately to the control tower to inquire about the mysterious pilot who had saved his life.

5.1 The Control Woman's Shocking Revelation:

When he asked the woman on duty who the other pilot was so that he could thank him, she stared at him in utter disbelief and laughed:

"Another aeroplane? Up there in this storm? No other aeroplanes were flying tonight. Yours was the only one I could see on the radar."

5.2 Deconstructing the Unsolved Ending:

Forsyth deliberately concludes the story on a haunting, open-ended question:

• The Psychological Hypothesis: The 'black aeroplane' was an externalized hallucination created by the pilot's own subconscious mind—his years of flying experience guiding his hands under extreme survival pressure.
• The Supernatural / Miracle Hypothesis: An unseen guardian angel or metaphysical protector intervened in the tempest to guide a doomed man to safety.