Chapter 2: The Men Summary and Analysis

Chapter two describes the mettle of the men who fly for Aeropostale, typified by two men in particular. The first is Mermoz who was charged with the task of charting a traversable route through the Andes from Buenos Aires to Santiago de Chile. He is proven for this type of task in that he is the man who did the same project in the Casablance-Dakar route. A pioneer of flying uncharted areas, Mermoz is the pilot who teaches Antoine and his fellow pilots how to land on unlit airstrips and in the ocean.

In the beginning of this particular expedition, Mermoz and his mechanic find themselves trapped on top of a mesa with sheer cliffs and a plane that won't start. His solution to the problem is simply to drop off of the cliff's edge and let...