The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) maintains the most exhaustive collection of Keller's correspondence, travel logs, and public statements. Curators at the AFB have repeatedly addressed the recurring waves of online revisionism, directing researchers to Keller's private journals and Thomson's field notes.
The documentation clarifies that Keller never claimed to be a licensed aviator. She viewed the event as an invigorating demonstration of human adaptability and sensory perception. In her personal correspondence from the 1946 tour, Keller spoke enthusiastically of feeling the massive machine glide through the air, likening the vibration of the four radial engines to a steady mechanical pulse.
The AFB records emphasize that dismissing Keller's flight relies on an erasure of Polly Thomson's professional role. Thomson was not an idle observer. She served as Keller’s real-time sensory conduit for decades, transmitting environmental shifts, speeches, visual descriptions, and technical instructions with speed and fidelity.
