First fatal airplane crash

Lieutenant Thomas Etholen Selfridge (USA) was an army observer on a plane piloted by Orville Wright (USA) on 17 September 1908, when, four minutes into the performance test of the aircraft 'Wright Flyer' at Fort Myer in Virginia, USA, the propeller snapped a rudder control wire, which forced the propeller to break and lead to the plane nose-diving into a field. Selfridge died from his internal injuries and fractured skull within three hours of the accident, thus becoming first fatality in an airplane crash. The first fatal airplane accident occurred five years after Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful flight. To obtain a contract for an aircraft from the US Army, it was necessary to demonstrate that it could carry passengers, and two successful flights with a passenger had been made. The third, with Lieutenant Thomas E Selfridge as the passenger, crashed in front of a crowd of 2,000 people.

Orville Wright was hospitalized with a fractured thigh and several broken ribs.

Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge was buried with military honours at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, USA.