A First Lieutenant in the US Army became the first person to die in a crash of a powered aircraft just five years after the Wright brothers first took to the air in 1903.
Ft Lt Thomas Selfridge was only 26 when he met his death, flying with one of the Wright brothers on September 17, 1908 when the aircraft they were flying crashed. The Wright Flyer aircraft was circling Fort Myer in Virginia, piloted by Orville Wight while Selfridge travelled as a passenger.
Halfway through the fifth circuit at 150 ft / 46 m, the right propeller broke, losing thrust. This caused a vibration, causing the split propeller to hit a guy wire bracing the rear vertical rudder. This sent the Flyer into a nose-dive and while Orville managed to shut off the engine and glided to about 75 feet / 23 m off the ground, the Flyer hit the ground nose first.
Selfridge suffered severe head injuries while Wright survived as he was wearing a helmet.
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