Ans: The narrator, in spite of knowing that his old Dakota aeroplane would not be able to withstand the fury of the storm, ran into it. He, with an old engine and very limited fuel, could not fly past the storm. As soon as his aeroplane entered the storm, it was subjected to unbearable torture. It jumped and twisted as if it was a toy aeroplane. The compass behaved abnormally and finally went out of function. The radio, too, went dead. The narrator was lost in the storm. Nobody could have stopped him being like a toy at the hands of the whimsicality of the storm. He was frightened and helpless. Then out of nowhere a black aeroplane appeared before him and guided him to safety. The narrator, faced with a fierce storm, could do nothing but to surrender himself to the pilot of the black aeroplane and followed the black aeroplane like an obedient child till he could get out of danger.
It was, indeed, a life-threatening experience for him.
2. “ I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it? What characteristic traits of the narrator do we find from this very decision of the narrator?
Ans: The narrator talks about the risk of facing the furious storm mid-air while flying his old Dakota plane to London from Paris.
The narrator took the risk because he was desperate to spend his holiday with his family in London. He wanted to get home and wanted to have breakfast with his family.
The narrator’s decision to continue his journey points towards his tendency to give preference to impulse over reason. Despite knowing the limitations of his aeroplane, his decision to continue the journey shows that he defies logic and undermines rational thinking and embraces adventure that he is not equipped to handle on his own.
The narrator’s decision shows his casual approach and failure to gauge the enormity of the risk he was going to take rather than the intensity of his eagerness to get united with his family.
3. Why does the narrator say, “ I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…..”?
Ans: The horror of getting confined in the old Dakota aeroplane while facing the fury of the storm was not something that the narrator could cherish. It was like a nightmare for him. The tension, anxiety, and the sounds of the footsteps of imminent death that were knocking at his door were not at all comfortable experiences to be recalled over time. The journey of the narrator in his old Dakota plane was a disastrous one; the thought of it was enough to run down a chill through his spine over time and again.
The association of the narrator with the Dakota aeroplane would invariably recall those moments of horror he underwent some time ago and would have made him unhappy. Avoiding the physical nearness from Dakota by walking away from it would have probably made him a relieved person.
3. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Ans: The narrator landed on an airport and felt relieved thinking that his ordeal had finally come to an end. The black aeroplane and the pilot who helped him safely get out of the storm were nowhere to be seen.The pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane looked for the black aeroplane and its pilot. But he could locate neither of them.
The pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane then went to a woman in the control room and asked her about the other aeroplane and its pilot. Upon such an enquiry, the woman strangely looked at him.
The enquiry of the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane made the woman astonished. The pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane was talking about another plane flying alongside his aeroplane. This was an impossible proposition because it was unlikely that anybody would like to venture out in such a violent storm. The radar signal, too, revealed so. It showed only one aeroplane stuck in the storm. It was no other than the old Dakota which the narrator was flying. Hence the pilot’s query was itself strange and triggered a sense of disbelief that manifested itself in a strange look in her eyes.
4. Write a summary of the story?
Ans: The short story ‘Black Aeroplane’ by Frederick Forsyth is about a pilot who is desperate to get back home and spend the holiday with his family in London. When he took off late with his old Dakota aeroplane at night from Paris, the moon was coming up in the east. It was a clear sky. There was no sign of clouds in the sky. Soon after taking off, he contacted the Paris control and received vital information regarding reaching his destination. Other than fuel shortage, there was no issue with the aeroplane. He flew on and when he left Paris 150 kilometres behind, he saw huge storm clouds. He instantly knew that he would not be able to surpass the cloud. Yet his eagerness to reach London made him take the risk of continuing his journey braving the storm. The outcome was horrible. His old Dakota plane was no match for the cloud. All the instruments went out of function; he was cut off from the rest of the world and was lost in the storm.
It was when he lost hopes of getting out of nature's fury alive, there emerged a black aeroplane out of nowhere. The pilot of the black aeroplane guided the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane out of danger. The pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane landed safely at an airport. He looked for the pilot of the black aeroplane at the airport but there was no sign of either the pilot or his black aeroplane. Upon asking about them, the woman in the control room informed him that according to the radar data, no other aeroplane except the narrator’s was out in the sky. This reply of the woman in the control room left the old Dakota pilot baffled. All his questions relating to the disappeared pilot and his black aeroplane remained unanswered.
5. What did the narrator face when he entered the clouds? How did he manage to get out of the clouds?
Ans: The narrator faced the fury of the storm inside the clouds. He could not see anything because everything suddenly turned black. The narrator’s old Dakota aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. All the instruments such as the compass and the radio went out of action. The compass started behaving unnaturally thereby forcing the narrator to lose his direction. The radio was dead thereby cutting the narrator off from the rest of the world . There was little fuel left in the tank. The narrator was left helpless at the mercy of the violent storm.
He could not manage to get out of the clouds all by himself. The storm was so powerful that he had no option but to meekly give up to its whims and caprices. A time came when he lost all hopes of survival. It was then a black aeroplane appeared out of nowhere. It began flying in front of the narrator's old Dakota aeroplane. The pilot of the black aeroplane waved at the narrator and asked him to follow the black aeroplane. The narrator followed the black aeroplane like an obedient child for at least half an hour and eventually got himself out of danger.
6. ‘He lifted one hand and waved.’ - Who waved at the narrator? What did the narrator feel at this?
Ans: The pilot of the black aeroplane waved at the narrator.
The narrator’s struggle for life in the mid-sky was an unequal fight against the fury of storm that came his way when he was flying for London. The narrator was cut off from the rest of the world because the radio was not working and he could not contact the control room. With a depleting fuel reserve and with no one to assist him in the hour of need, he had little scope for survival. In this atmosphere of helplessness, the sight of another pilot waving at him brought to him a ray of hope amid darkness. It gave him a fresh lease of life. It brought to him a sense of solace and security. Because the narrator saw in him a saviour who could put an end to all his ordeals.
7. How did the black aeroplane guide the narrator's plane mid-air ?
Ans: The black aeroplane appeared out of nowhere at a time when the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane was struggling hard to stabilise his aeroplane. It meant he had to stand against nature's fury.
The pilot of the black aeroplane saw the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane struggle hard and he also realised that the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane would fail to stabilise his aeroplane. He placed his aeroplane right in front of the old Dakota aeroplane and asked the pilot to follow him. The pilot of the old Dakota followed the black aeroplane without asking any question. He followed the black aeroplane like an obedient child. The pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane came out of the clouds after more than half an hour of flight.
8. How did the narrator behave till the moment he got out of the clouds?
Ans: Faced with the fury of nature, the narrator appeared to be a poor helpless person. He gave up his fight against the fury of nature and meekly surrendered to the whims of the storm. He knew his struggle against the fury of nature was a useless struggle which was bound to fail. He resigned to his fate and when the black aeroplane came to assist him, his careless attitude was no more to be seen. He, rather, surrendered to the wishes of the pilot of the black aeroplane and started following the black aeroplane like an obedient child till he could get out of the clouds.
9. “Yours was the only one I could see on the radar.” - Who said this and to whom ? Why?
Ans: The woman in the control room said this to the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane.
Upon asking the whereabouts of the black aeroplane and its pilot, the woman in the control room appeared surprised. She presented the radar record that clearly showed that no aeroplane other than the narrator’s old Dakota was flying that night. Hence the radar record clearly contradicted the narrator’s experience. The woman in the control centre had to disclose the hard fact based on the information provided by the radar only to put an end to the mistaken notion of a black aeroplane giving the old Dakota pilot company in the stormy night.
10. What did the narrator do once he landed at the airport?
Ans: The narrator felt relieved upon coming out of the clouds and seeing an airport in front of him. He landed at the airport and started looking for his friend in the black aeroplane. He looked up into the sky but the sky was empty. The black aeroplane was not in the sky. He did not find the aeroplane at the airport either. It was nowhere to be found. It vanished suddenly.
The narrator then approached the woman in the control centre. He asked the woman as to where he was and who was the pilot of the black aeroplane. The reference of the other pilot surprised the woman and she told the narrator, the pilot of the old Dakota, that no other aeroplane was flying that night. His was the only aeroplane that the woman could see on the radar. The author was surprised to get such a response from the woman. It left him with many unanswered questions relating to the black aeroplane and its pilot.
11. “ I was very happy to go behind the strange aeroplane like an obedient son.” - Explain the line in detail.
Ans: The line clearly shows the helpless situation in which the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane finds himself. The black aeroplane appeared at a time when the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane was fighting nature's fury.
All his adventurism got replaced with childish obedience. The black aeroplane intended to guide the old Dakota to safety and the pilot of the old Dakota was very much willing to be guided by the black aeroplane. The black aeroplane strategically positioned itself in front of the old Dakota aeroplane. The old Dakota aeroplane followed the black aeroplane. No question was asked. The magnanimity of the danger was such that the narrator did not try to do anything different, anything out of ordinary. His helplessness is well-manifested in his action of meekly following the black aeroplane. The simile comparing the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane to an obedient child is apt and truly reflects the distressed condition of the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane.
12. Write a note on the element of mystery and suspense that you find in the story.
Ans: The elements of mystery and suspense arise out of secrecy, information gap, and events that defy reason and logic. The story, ‘Black Aeroplane’ narrates the tale of a pilot who is eager to fly home in London from Paris and spend holiday with his family. He took off from Paris in his old Dakota aeroplane amid clear sky. But soon he realised that everything was not well. He spotted huge storm clouds coming his way. As soon as he saw them, he knew he would neither be able to avoid them nor withstand them. Yet he decided to continue with his journey. He had to go through moments of horror and he could get away with his life only because of a black aeroplane and its pilot who guided him to safety.
The story up to this point seems absolutely normal with no element of mystery and suspense. But a twist then follows. The pilot, upon safe landing at the airport, approaches the woman in the control centre and upon enquiring about the black aeroplane and its pilot, is informed that no other aeroplane was flying alongside his plane. This very information towards the end of the story gives rise to a number of questions in the reader’s mind.
We, alongside with the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane, are clueless as to who was the pilot and as to where the plane disappeared. We are also baffled as to why the radar could not detect the black aeroplane. It defies all logic. We are haunted by a thought whether the black aeroplane was a reality or a hallucination. If it is a hallucination then how the pilot of the old Dakota could safely land by following it. If it is a reality, then the question arises as to where the black aeroplane went without leaving any trace. All these questions and facts create an atmosphere of mystery and suspense because answers to these questions are nowhere to be found.
13. Going by his heroics that could have led to a disastrous outcome, what impression do you form about the narrator?
Ans: The narrator appears to be a regular family person who is very much eager to meet his family members during the holidays. In his eagerness to meet his family, he decides to continue flying ignoring the imminent storm. This decision puts his life in risk. This shows his desperation and recklessness as a human being. He is not only desperate and reckless, but also irrational in his approach. It is not that he fails to gauge the danger of flying amid inclement weather. He rightly assesses the situation and appears to be well aware of his limitations to handle the situation. Yet he is determined to continue his journey. His disregard for the imminent danger shows his casual approach in the face of sure death. And such an approach defies any logic whatsoever.
14. Comment on the ending of the story.
Ans: The ending of the story is full of suspense and mystery. The apparently simple events of the story appear to come to a happy ending. The pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane survives a furious storm. But the situation takes a turn when it is revealed that the black aeroplane and the pilot who helped the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane get out of the storm have never shown up on the radar at the control centre. The experience of the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane never matches with what the woman in the control centre has to say. This gives rise to several questions that are left unanswered and left to the guesswork of the reader. The twist that comes towards the end adds a different dimension to the story by creating an atmosphere of mystery and hints at some supernatural elements at play.
Conclusion: Once you finish reading the above article on 'Black Aeroplane', also read 'Black Aeroplane: A paragraph wise analysis of the text for clear understanding for CBSE Class X students' and 'Explore the One mark question-answer covering each paragraph of the text Black Aeroplane for CBSE Class X' students for better understanding the text and better preparation for the examination.
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