This dramatic film is part of the C.H. Wood collection and follows a group of people who tried to rescue a pilot from a crashed fighter plane, but failed. Through the use of narration and demonstrations the viewer is shown what to do if a fighter plane should crash. Title-Royal Air Force Official Crown Copyright Reserved. Title-A fighter has crashed. Title-Produced by Selwyn Films The film opens with shots of a fighter plane flying through a rainy, night sky; there is a brief shot of the...

This dramatic film is part of the C.H. Wood collection and follows a group of people who tried to rescue a pilot from a crashed fighter plane, but failed. Through the use of narration and demonstrations the viewer is shown what to do if a fighter plane should crash. Title-Royal Air Force Official Crown Copyright Reserved. Title-A fighter has crashed. Title-Produced by Selwyn Films The film opens with shots of a fighter plane flying through a rainy, night sky; there is a brief shot of the pilot in the cockpit. The shot cuts to a control room which is full of officers at their stations. There is another brief shot of the plane and then a shot of one of the radios with a message coming out over it. The control room officer says that he is picking him up and to tell him what the problem is. It is the pilot and he says that his engine is packing up and he wants permission to land immediately. The next scene opens in a big house with two men having a chat in the sitting room. The daughter of one of the men comes in to close the curtains and hears sounds of a stalling engine and then an explosion as the plane crashes. They all go off to help the pilot. Outside, the plane has crashed into trees and the pilot's hand can be seen moving in the window and then disappearing. The woman, two men and a policeman climb onto the front of the plane and try to open the door but they are unable to. One of the men uses an axe to smash the window and accidentally hits the pilot; all of the people start to argue. Then another man presses a button as they are about to remove him but it starts a fire in the cockpit. There is a brief shot of all of the people standing around looking at the fire consuming the plane. The woman looks to the camera and exclaims `if only we had known how to get him out, if only we had known'. The next scene takes place in a pub where an army officer is playing darts and the people from the crash site sit around saying how the pilot's death still plagues them. The officer says that it was not their fault and another man says what if another plane crashes! He asks the officer if he will tell them how to rescue a man if his plane crashes. The officer agrees. The demonstration begins with a change of scene to a hanger with a plane and a pilot who shows how to carry out the various steps. The voiceover says where the rescuer should stand and how to open the hood of the plane; the pilot demonstrates this. Next the voiceover describes how to open the door by use of the latch or if it is stuck, by use of a crow bar. Again the pilot demonstrates this. Following this are demonstrations of how to remove the pilot's safety harness and parachute harness. At this stage the man standing in as the `injured' pilot is sitting on a chair so that the viewer can see the steps easily. The next step is to remove the dingy upon which the pilot sits, followed by his helmet. The instructor pilot demonstrates how to carry out these steps. The voiceover continues on to say that the rescuer then needs to check that the pilot's legs are not caught in the cockpit and then describes how to remove the injured pilot from the plane. The scene cuts back to the pub where the army officer tells them what to do if the plane crashes upside down; he takes a toy plane from the ceiling of the pub and demonstrates to the locals. The scene cuts back to the army base where some officers demonstrate what to do once the pilot is taken out of the plane and brought to safety. Back in the pub the officer continues on to say that the way to rescue pilots varies according to the type of plane so he shows them a picture of another plane type. There are shots of a pilot carrying out the same rescue steps except this time it is on a different plane so the hood and doors open differently. The officer in the pub goes on to describe the rescue steps for several more types of plane, all of which are accompanied by shots of the pilot carrying them out. Back in the pub the officer says that he hopes he has helped. The landlady calls time and the officer looks to the camera and says `perhaps someday you will save my life, you never know'. Title-The End.