First fatal airplane fatality
17 September 1908: Orville Wright brought his Wright Flyer to Fort Myer, Virginia to demonstrate it to the U.S. Army Signal Corps. A crowd of approximately 2,500 spectators had gathered to watch the flight.
Lieutenant Thomas Etholen Selfridge, U.S. Army Signal Corps, wanted to ride along with Wright and asked to go first. Lieutenant George Sweet, U.S. Navy was scheduled for the first flight, but he and Wright agreed to let Lieutenant Selfridge go. The two men aboard the Wright Flyer made four circuits of the field approximately 150 feet above the ground. The starboard propeller broke and struck the guy wires supporting the rudder. As the rudder rotated sideways, it caused the airplane to pitch nose down.
Honoring Lt Selfridge
In April 1917, The War Department named Selfridge Field near Mount Clemens, Michigan in honor of Lt Selfridge. The field was on of the thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I. Selfridge Field later became Selfridge Air Force Base and in 1971 became Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Selfridge ANGB is home to the 127th Wing, Michigan Air National Guard and a host of active duty, Army Guard and Army Reserve tenant units. There are streets named after Lt Selfridge on several military installations, including Maxwell and Lackland Air Force Bases. Battery Selfridge in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard compound at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam honors Lt Selfridge. The battery is part of O‘ahu’s coastal defense system built in the early 1900s.
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