Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-09-19
1. ~. WILL RECOVER. .&llAA
GContinued from Page one.l

A--s->.~ - - -. --J\ -, 49,, .-Dou. v.A-
+. o., On oept. IL, 1915, was due To the
a1ciuentdl breaking OF a propeller blade
and consequent unavoidable loss OF
control Wnlcn resulted in the machine
falling to the ground from a height OF
ABOUT IS feet.
The board finds that First Lieutenant
Thomas +. SeIfridge. LIST Field Artil-
lery, '(attached to the Signal Corps by
war department orders, and assign
ed to aeronautical duty accompanied
by Mr. Wright, by authority, on the
acroplane, for the purpose of officially
receiving Instructions, and received
which resulted in his death.'S
The Signal Corps will proceed with
its aeronautical work and it is under
stood the Wright brothers will be per-
mitted to make. their official trials
whenever they are ready. without en-
dangering their chance of receiving
the contract price of $4,000 for their
aeroplane.
MIR. Wrights assistants, Taylor and
Furness, took with them to the hospital
today two Of the broken parts Of the
aeroplane. They showed these to Mr..
Wright, who said to Taylor:
The machine was already recover
ing it's balance when 1t struck and !
am sure If we had had 25 feet further
to go we would have landed on the
skids without serious damage"
Speaking for Mr.. Wright. Mr. Taylor
later said:
'Ihe accident was caused by an ex-
traoidinary 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
1t got in range of the propeller and was
struck by the blade. This caused the
blade to break. The other blade Of the
propeller few around and, in turn
struck the same wire, breaking 1t. Thi
made Mr. Wright lose control Of his
rudGer entirely and the loss of both
blades of the propeller and the break
ing of the wire caused him to lost con-
troll of the planes. Shutting off power
to stop the remaining propeller, he
steadied the machine somewhat, but
the distance to the ground was no.
great enough to restore the eQuilibri-
UNI"
Numerous kilograms of sympathy
were received at the Fort Myer hos
pital today but they were withheld
from Mr.. Wright.
Washington. Sept. 13.-Lying in thu
Fort Mycr hospital with a fractured
thigh and ribs. Orvile Wright, the
aeronaut. who fell with Lieut.. Sci
fridge In. yesterdays aeroplane acct
dent. is making a manly fight for re-
covery. Through the night there was
much anxiety over the injured avia-
tors condition. but as day broke anf
no signs of internal injuries developed
as the attending surgeon after d cal
shortly after 8 oclocked announced
that. Wright was doing very well
there was great relief expressed among
those Nhn were watching the progress
Of the patient. This telegram was sen
this MOI ming to Wilbur Wright at l.,
Mans by Charles r. Flint of New York
who repre- sents the foreign interests o.
the Wright brothers:
'Wilbur Wright, lie Mans. France
"Orville In good shape this morning.
The fact that no reaction had set If
and that he Is in good shape" as on
of the reports from the hospital earl,
today expressed it, Is known to near
that 1t is now only q question Of time
before Wright will be able to leave the
hospital. Mr.. Flint. who made inquire
ut the hospital early this morning saif
later that he believed from the doc
tors report that Wright would be ou'
again within perhaps six weeks. Miss
Katherine Wright, a sister Of Wilbur
and Orville who was Immediately no
tilted OF the disaster. reached here from
Dayton. Ohio, late this afternoon j.
order to be with her brother as nue.
as possible while he is at the hospita'
The mechanics who helped Wrigh
y, the work on his machine are almos
almost heartbroken over its wreck
Mechanic TAYLOR said that when thu
acroplane fell he expected to find Or
VILE dead "Nonc know better than T.
said he. "the heartaches and sleeples'
nights this aeroplane has cost thu
Wright brothers. 1t is too terrible t.
think about"
Mechanic Furnass said that he saw
Orville trying hard to get the airshiI
level again after the propeller broke
but that the one propeller that was re
Volving pulled tho machine downward
and to the left. at was too strong
said he. "to restore the equilibrium o.
the machine.
Mr.. Taylor said he could not see how
the two propellers could have como
together. The angle line was in perfec'
condition before the flight and thu
steering plane and main plane were al
right.
Both Taylor and Furnass visited
Wright this morning. Wright told Tay
Tor that he stopped the motor after thu
accident happened in the air.
From the latest accounts of close eye
witnesses the piece broken from tht
propeller struck one Of the SUPPORTS o.
the rudder. The machine soon started
totswiny around on it's own axis to tho
left 1t did not overturn as was the
general impression given to spectator:
at the far end of the field, but the left
side veered downward. Mr. Wright
again regained his lateral equilibrium
hut the machine then plunged forward
striking the ground with terrific force.
Mr. Wright believes that he would have
been able to land safely had he beer
so feet higher at the time of the acct
dent
Another theory advanced by several