Accident, Injury, Prevention: Flight Safety is a 1946 animated U.S. Navy training film (MN-4353M) that shows viewers how a Navy pilot’s cavalier attitude to training and safety lead to his fatal plane crash. The film opens with a fighter jet crash landing in the desert. The pilot, “Mr. Smith,” is killed in the crash. An investigative journalist interviews people who knew Smith, and everyone commented about how they knew him as “Indestructible Smith,” which lead to his disregard for safety precautions. Pilots sit in a classroom watching a film on flight safety that covers such topics as dress code, pre-flight safety checks. The film shows a replica of the Navy’s accident report for Smith.

This film was made by the UPA Studio. United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio active from the 1940s through the 1970s. It gained famed for Mr. Magoo, but actually got started by making industrials and informational films for the government, unions, and companies, many of them being done for the World War II war effort. “Indestructible Smith” however never gained much traction and was supplanted by an accident prone cohort — known as Grandpa Pettibone — in future U.S. Navy productions.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com