Release #: Vol. 84, No. 8
October 01, 2015

The Landing: 'A Manmade Miracle'

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and The New York Times-bestselling author David McCullough sat down with Air Line Pilot for an exclusive interview to discuss his newest book The Wright Brothers. He also thoughtfully explained his deeper appreciation for airline pilots and the danger of taking anything for granted.

Q. After spending so much time researching the Wright Brothers, has your view on aviation changed? What do you think about the evolution of this industry?

A. My respect for pilots is greater than it’s ever been because I know a great deal more about what can go wrong. The professional training and professional judgement that they have to have. And however wondrous today’s present-day technology is, it still comes down to human ability to fly the plane. The Wrights didn’t just invent the airplane,…they also invented how to fly the airplane. They were the first test pilots ever. And the same is true with any pilot today. They have to learn how to do that. It’s not easy. Physically or mentally. When all the flights in the air were ordered to go aground on 9/11, to my knowledge there was not one accident, not one mishap. They all obeyed orders, and they did so skillfully and without incident or accident. Think of the training and ability and steadfastness in the face of adversity that represents.

Q. Prior to our discussion about pilot pay, were you aware of the controversy about early career starting pay for airline pilots?

A. I had never heard how low the starting salaries in fact are. I was not only surprised, it made me angry. How can they do that? When so much is put in the hands of these people that we just take for granted. We are climbing on board these airplanes, and they are responsible for our lives. They should be compensated not just adequately, but then some. Something’s got to be done about that. It will decrease the ability of the people who have to apply and aspire to that career. No question about it. And that would be a very big mistake, and a dangerous trend.

Q. What do you think today’s pilots and the Wright Brothers have in common?

A. Clearly they have the joy of flight. The excitement, the gratification of taking off into the sky—which has mechanized and is now devoid of direct human physical contact with the air rushing by and the smell of the air up above—is still pure magic. And all of us who sit in our comfortable seat in the recliner coming in to land let’s say over Washington, D.C., and look down and see the symbolic buildings right there before us like a chess board is a rare privilege. Back in the time of George Washington, for whom the city is named, he never got to see that. But we do, and we should never ever take it for granted. It’s adding to the thrill of life and joy of life—aviation. Too often we are in too great a hurry to stop and think about it. We should. And our curiosity ought to make us want to know more about who did this. Who were those guys? How did they do this? That’s how I felt. That’s how I got going on this particular book.

Q. Amos Root, in the first published coverage of the Wrights’ first flight, said, “When you see one of these graceful crafts sailing over your head, and possibly over your home, as I expect you will in the near future, see if you don’t agree with me that the flying machine is one of God’s most gracious and precious gifts.” How much do you think that still applies today?

A. Very little. I think the problem today is that we all take aviation for granted, like water coming out of the faucet of our sink. We take pure water for granted, and yet in much of the world that is something very rare, hard to find—pure water. Here we are able to go where we go and do so in not only comfort but in safety—the kind that was never imaginable 25 to 30 years ago.

The indifference to the history of aviation is in some way symbolic of much of our history today, and that’s a real concern to me and should be for all of us. We are suffering a variation of amnesia, and it’s not a healthy thing. We need to know who we are and why we are the way we are. And what these great achievements have cost in effort and dedication and failure. Progress just doesn’t happen. And when it happens, we should never be without that sense of good fortune for us. The advent of the airplane changed the world. It changed history. It changed the outlook of what is possible…. It’s a miracle, it’s a manmade miracle. A miracle created with the human mind. With human bravery and courage.

Q. The book covered the surprising extent of the new research the Wright Brothers performed—it seemed that any time they thought they had a foundation to start from, such as the angle of the wing or the science behind propellers, they had to go back and redo or rethink someone else’s research and theories. What was the biggest thing that surprised you in researching the book?

A. How often they faced the intellectual problems that not only challenged their mental ingenuity or heft but that put a strain on their time, patience, perseverance—in a time that very few people would have been able to face. They would’ve given up. They weren’t just physically daring; they were intellectually daring. This isn’t just a physical adventure into the blue; it’s an intellectual adventure into the blue. The idea that these two young men from Ohio—who never graduated from high school, let alone college, who had no technical training whatsoever—could not only accomplish what they did intellectually but then proceed to accomplish what they did physically and against the very real likelihood they could be killed on any one of their test flights is itself a story of inspiration. I would’ve wanted to have written a book about the Wright Brothers even if they had not succeeded. So admirable are their human traits. So much is there to learn from their conduct and accomplishments. That in itself is to me sufficient reason to give them a just place in our story as a people, as a country. History isn’t just about politics and the military, though it’s often taught that way…. There is much else that was done by people of great ability and great courage and great good luck that figures dramatically in the way we live, what we count as important, and how we continue to behave as citizens. They’re a prime example.

Q. Favorite quote from Wilbur Wight?

A. When Wilbur was asked, “What is the secret to success?” “Pick out a good mother and father and grow up in Ohio.”

Q. Do you have a favorite aircraft?

A. The old DC-3. You had to walk uphill just to get to your seats. I love those airplanes.

This article is from the October 2015 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, the Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International—a monthly publication for all ALPA members.

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