Page:Aviation Accident Report, American Export Airlines Flight 71.pdf/8

- 7 - information contained in the weight and balance sheet. It appears that after all passengers and crew were aboard, the engines were started and the aircraft left the mooring with the captain at the controls while the first officer was back in the cabin making the necessary check of passenger seating. The captain taxied the aircraft to the approximate point of intended take-off, where one or two circles were made on the water while waiting for one of the engines to reach the required temperature.

First Officer Lindsey testified that just as the aircraft reached the position where the take-off was to start, he arrived on the flight deck and took his seat on the right side where, he stated, he fastened his safety belt and "went through as much of my normal cockpit check as I could before we were ready for take-off." He stated that while surveying the cockpit he looked out to the wing, as he normally does just before take-off, and detected that there was some flap down but he could not attest to how much "because I didn't have time to look at the gauge that showed how much they were down. I would say that they were not full down." When asked if he did not think it strange that some degree of flap was being used on the take-off from Botwood, he replied, "The only question that arose in my mind was whether the captain had decided to use flaps, inasmuch as he had not mentioned to me prior to starting the take-off run that he was going to use flaps. In other words, I felt, if he we going to use flaps, he would have told me how much and probably would have asked me to turn them down." When questioned, "Did you call it to the captain's attention that the flaps were down?" Lindsey answered, "No, sir, I didn't. He was just starting to feed the power to the airplane at that time. I turned to shout at him and ask him whether he instructs use flaps. He had his