This is the picture of Captain Syed Jan Sadiq who was a pilot in Pakistan's flag carrier the PIA. I find this picture to be interesting because when I see it, it reminds me of interesting anecdotes from Captain Sadiq's autobiography. The Captain joined the airline when it was still in its fledgling years and was a part of it during its heyday in the sixties and seventies.
The picture was taken in the city of Peshawar, when Captain Johnny, as he is commonly known, was a co-pilot on DC-3s flying tough routes in the northern areas of Pakistan. The city of Peshawar is home to burly pathan men and young boys flying aircraft was a peculiarity for these people. Once when a friend of the Captain who was also a pilot was standing near his aircraft seeing people boarding it, a man approached him. He inquired who the pilots of the aircraft were. On this the pilot replied that he was one of the pilots. The man was surprised and asked how can such a young boy be a pilot? On this the pilot told him that he should wait and see the Captain as he was even younger. The man didn't wait to see the Captain, he just went and had his ticket cancelled. He was not flying with under-age pilots.
On another such occasion Captain Johnny was at Gwadar airport trying to turn on one of the engines of the aircraft. As Gwadar was a village back then and as security was not a big issue in those days, the passengers used to wait near the plane as the pilot readied it.
Actually the self starter system of the aircraft had failed. The Captain therefore decided to use a back-up system which was similiar to starting primitive motor cars. Someone had to go below the engine and pull a chain while the Captain pushed the ignition button. Captain Johnny and the first engineer were ,in clear view of the passengers, going through this cumbersome ritual of coaxing the engine to life when one of the passenger built his courage up and turned up in the cockpit. He told Captain Johnny that he and the other passengers had a discussion and had come up with a solution. As there were around 28 men, they would be able to muster enough strength to push the aircraft to sufficient speed. The Captain could then put the aircraft in second gear and release the clutch resulting in the engine turning up! So simple!
