The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-19
WRIGHT MAKES A MANI% FIGHT Aeroplarst st isin a
 yhospital. HIS soNDIIIoN IS IMPROVING Accident to Ship a Setback to
 Aerial Navigation. wilbur wright Cries In France When He Hears Of The Death Of
 Lieutenant Thomas
 seIfridse.
HIS soNDITI0N IS IMPROVING

cident, which resulted fn the death of Lieutenant E. Selfridge of the signal corps and the serious injury of Orville Wright, presented a cheerless aspect today.
 The air of gloom was reflected in the faces of the brother officers of the unfortunate lieutenant. when they met at the fort this morning to make an official Investigation of the accident; In the matter of which the usual morning morning cavalry drill was gone through with. over the very ground upon which the ill-fated aerial ship was wrecked and Tn the words of appreciation spoken by members of the signal corps balloon squad which had been under the direct charge of Lieutenant Selfridge.
 Lieutenant Selfridge's body was to- day removed from the hospital at Fort Myer. to an undertaker's, where 1t win remain until the arrival of the young officers father. who wired today from San Francisco that he would like to have his son buried either at Ar lington or West Point. A military funeral will be held and burial prob ably will be at Arlington.
 Miss Catherine Wright. the sister of the injured aeroplanist arrived, here from Dayton this afternoon and visit- ed her brother Octave Chanute, a close friend and adviser of the Wright brothers: Charles R. Flint and c. D. Taylor and c. W. Furnass. OrvilIe Wright's mechanics. were the only other persons permitted to see him to- day.
 An OmciaI Inquiry.
 Major George O.. Squier. acting chief signal officer of the army, this morn ing convened the board of signal of- ficers for the purpose of making an official inquiry into the death of Lieu tenant Selfridge. Major Charles Mex. saltzrnan acted as chairman and Capt F. Lahm were the other members pres
 The wreckage of the aeroplane had been placed in the shed last night, and the members of the board, accom- panied by Octave Chanute and Pro- lessor Albert Seahm of the Catholic University. both of whom are authori- ties on aeronautics, inspected the tam gled mass. It was found 4that the broken piece of the propeller was in- dented as though it had come in con- tact with a wire.
 During the Inquiry. several eye witnesses were questioned. among them being Dr. Spratt, who was present during the earlier experiments Of the Wright brothers in North Carolina; Sergeant Sweeney of the artillery corps, Sergeant Downey of the signal corps and others of the artillery. cav airy and signal corps, who were among the first on the scene.
 Major Squier, as acting chief signal officer. reviewed the findings of the court, which were given out by Major Squier as follows:
 The board finds that the accident which occurred fin an unofficial flight made at Fort Myer, Va, at about 5:Is p. m. on Sept. IF. 1908. was due to the accidental breaking of a propeller blade and a consequent unavoidable loss of control. which resulted in the machine falling to the ground from height of about seventy i've feet The board finds that First Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge, 1st field artillery (attached to the signal corps by War Department orders, and assigned to. aeronautical duty) accompanied Mir. wright, by authority, on the aeroplane for the purpose of officially receiving instruction, and received injuries by the falling of the machine, which re- suited in his death"
 Proceed With Tests.
 The signal corps will proceed with it's aeronautical work. and it Is un- derstood the Wright brothers will be permitted to make heir official trials whenever they are ready, without en- dangertng their chance of receiving the contract price of s25.O0o for their aeroplane,
 MT. Wright's assistants, Taylor and Furnass, took with them to the hospi- tai today two of the broken parts of the aeroplane; the piece of the pro- peller which gave the first indication to the spectators that an accident had occurred, and the attachment which held one of the controlling wires fast to the rudder. They showed these to MT. Wright, who said to Taylor:
 The machine was already recover ing it's balance when 1t struck, and I am sure If we had had twenty-five feet further to go, we would have landed on the skids without serious dam age."
 Speaking for Mir. Wright. MT. Taylor later said:
 The accident was caused by an extraordinary vibration of one of the wires running from the main planes to the upper steel fitting of the rud- der This vibration was so great that it got In the range of the pro- peller and was struck by the blade, cutting a deep gash In tle edge of the propeller blade about four inches from the end. This caused the blade to break, the other blade of the pro- peller flew around and in turn struck the same wire. breaking 1t. This made MT. Wright lose control of his rudder entirely and the loss of both blades of the propeller and the break Ing of the wire caused him to lose control of the planes. He realized that something had happened and thought his trouble was with the trans- mission gearing, which is a cross chain driving in a steel casing. He shut of the power to stop the remaining propeller, which tended to swing the machine somewhat. but the distance to the ground was not great enough to restore the equilibrium. MT. Wright endeavored to set his planes so as to describe a circular course near the ground" '"
 WILBUR WRIGHT SHOCKED.
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