Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1908-09-18
DARING FLYER
WILL RECOVER
Lieutenant SeIfridge Died in Hos
pitdl but Wright viii Get Well
Two Thousand People See
Aeropldne Accident on Fl.
Myer Drill Ground.

Washington. Sept. 1S.-Lying in
Fort Meyer hospital with a fractured
thigh, Orville Wright, who fell with
Lieut.. Thomas E. Selfridge yesterday
IN an aeroplane accident. is making
manly fight for recovery. No indi-
cation of internal injuries has devel-
oped and this morning the attending
surgeon announced that Wright was
doing very well.
The mechanics who helped Wright
In the work on his machine are al
most heartbroken over the wreck.
Mechanic Furness said he saw Orville
trying hard to get the airship on
level after the propeller broke, but
that the one propeller that was re-
volving pulled the machine downward
and to the left. 1t was too strong to
restore equilibrium. The broken pro-
peller smashed the same upper parts
of the airship and the whole mass fell
to the ground, injuring Selfridge SO
badly that he died in a short time,
and at the time it was feared that
Wright was also fatally hurt.
A crowd OF more than 1000 persons
saw the accident which resulted in the
Jury to Wright. The flight began
shortly after o'clock when Wrignt
and Selfridge seated themselves in the
aeroplane and Wright gave word to
his assistants to let go.
The machine rose slowly, the added
weight of Selfridge making it harder
for the aeroplane to reach the height
at which Wright has been making his
flights. 1t circled the field about
forty to fifty feet above the ground
and at the third round was seventy
five feet in air. AS it reached the
turn farthest from the spectators
something was seen to fall and an in
slant later the areoplane turned on
its side, recovered its equilibrium and
then plunged to the earth in a cloud
of dust.
The spectators ran to the mass OF
debris and with great difficulty ex-
tricated the two men. Selfridge was
unconscious and was at once removed
to the hospital, wnere an operation
was performed on his head and a
piece Of skull removed. He did not
regain consciousness.
Wright was conscious when picked
up, out on the way to the hospital
he became unconscious. Later he re-
vived and sent messages to his brother
in France and members of his fam
lily.
From latest accounts of eyewitness
es the accident was caused by piece
broken from the propeller. which
struck one of the supports of the
rudder, breaking It and leaving the
machine uncontrollable. 1t did not
travel far before 1t swung around on
its own axis to the left. 1t did not
overturn, as was the general impress
sion of the spectators. but the left
side veered downward.
Wright was able to again regain his
lateral equilibrium, but the macnine
then plunged forward, striking the
ground with terrific force. Wright
believes he would have been able to
land safely had he been fifty feet
higher in the air at the time of the
accident.
Another theory of eye witnesses is
that one of the supports of the rud-
der snapped off and was struck by
the propeller, which in turn was brok-
en- off This would cause the other
propeller to swing the machine
around.
The body of Lieut.. selfridge Is stiH
at Fort Meyer hospital awaiting in
structions from his family. His father
Is at San Francisco and his mother
and brother are supposed to be In
Boston.
A Serious Setback.
New York, Sept. 1S.-Many mem
bers of the Aero club and Aeronauti'
society of this city look upon th'
death Of Selfridge by the accident tC
the Wright aeroplane as the severes
setback aeronautics ever received. bu
L. LaRue Jones, editor of Aeronautics
pointed out in an interview that II
the history OF aeroplanes there hav'
only been four deaths compared with
the great number In connection will
the development of the balloon.