The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1908-09-24
Orville Wright Meets TragicN
Mishap While Making Twc>
man Flight.
AVIATOR IS BADLY INJURED
Propeller Snaps and Machine Falls to
Ground, Crushing Both
Men In Debris.

Washington, Sept. l9.-After having
| drawn the attention Of the world to
his aeroplane flights at Fort Myer and
having established new worlds rec
| ords for heavier-than-air flying ma
chimes, Orville Wright yesterday met
| with a tragical mishap while making
4 two-man flight. The aeroplanist was
accompanied by Lieut.. Thomas K.
Selfridge Of the signal corps of the
army. Lieut.. Selfridge vas fatally in
| jured and died at $40 o'clock last
| night. Mr.. Wright was seriously in
jured, but Is expected to recover
Propeller Snaps OF.
While the machine was encircling
| the drill grounds a propeller blade
snapped off and, hitting some other
| part of the intricate mechanism, caus.
ed it to overturn in the air and fall to
the ground, enveloping the two occu.
pants in the debris.
Soldiers and spectators ran across
the field to where the aeroplane Mad
fallen and assisted in lifting Mr..
Wright and Lieut.. Selfridge from un
der the tangled mass of machinery =.
rods, wires and shreds of mus'in. Mr.
Wright was conscious and said:
"Oh, hurry and lift the motor"
SeIfridge's Skull Fractured.
Lieut.. Selfridge was unconscious
and had apparently struck the ground
with great force. His head was GOV.
| cred with blood and he was choking
| when the soldiers extricated him from
| vnder the machine.
DR.. Walters, a New York physician,
was one of the first to reach the spot
and rendered first aid to the injured
men. When their wounds had been
bandaged Mr.. Wright and Lieut.. Self.
ridge were taken to the Fort Myer hos.
pital at the other end of the field. IL
las feared that Mr.. Wright was suffer.
ing from internal injuries. He hal
lapsed into a state Of semi-conscious.
ness by the time he reached the los
! pital, while Lieut.. Selfridge die not
regain consciousness at all. He was
suffering from a fracture at the base
OF the skull and was in a critical con.
dition.
Wright Badly Hurt.
After a hurried surgical examina.
ton it was announced that Mr.. Wright
was not dangerously injured. He is
suffering from a fracture of his lef.
thigh and several ribs on the right
side are fractured. Both men received
deep cuts about the head. Mr.. Wright
regained consciousness at the hospital
and dictated a cablegram to his broth.
er at Lemans, France, and requested
that the same message be sent to his
sister and father at Dayton, Ohio, as
surfing them that he was all right.
Uses New PropeIlers.
Mr.. Wright Wednesday replaced the
propellers which he has been using
with another pair, the blades of which
are six inches longer. They were used
for The first time in yesterdays disas.
trous fight, and many who have wit.
messed Mr.. Wright's fights at Fort
Myer believe the change of propellers
caused the accident. An examination
Of the broken blade showed that IN
had been snapped off at a point one
fourth Of the distance from the hub
A deep indentation of the broken piece
indicated that it had struck some
other part Of the ae~ropIane.
Flights Will Be Resumed.
Among the eye-witnesses was Mr..
Charles r. Flint of New York, inter.
national representative of the Wright
brothers. MI. Flint said last night
that the mishap would not cause the
Fort Myer flights to be abandoned.
They will be resumed, he said, as soon
as Mr.. Wright has recovered and the
machine has been repaired.
officers of the signal corps and
other enthusiasts at Fort Myer were
inclined to express the belief that yes.
terday's accident was not due to a
faulty principle, but to a defect in the
propeller, which was made of spruce.