No airplane has been more buffeted by the "Is it safe?" controversy than Lockheed's four-engine, 60-passenger Constellation. Last week the black-eyed Connie found an outspoken champion in Assistant Secretary of Commerce (for air) William A. M. Burden. A knowing airman, Bill Burden told the Senate committee investigating air safety that "disproportionate attention" had been paid to the Connie's "occasional mishaps."
Before the Connie went into commercial service, said he, it had been put through 4,670 hours, or 1,401,000 miles, of test flying—without a single injury. The fire which got the Connie grounded last summer was no fault of the engine's induction...
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