Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-18

Denver, Col, Nov. with one wing
| tip of his machine crumpied up like
piece of paper, Ralph tombstone, the
brilliant young aviator, holder of the
| worlds altitude record, dropped today
| like 4 plummet from a height of 800
| feet into the Enclosure at Overland
Park Aviation field and was instantly
killed.
| When the spectators crowded about
| the Enclosure, reached him, his body
ley beneath the engine of the biplane,
with the white plane that had failed
him in his time Of need wrapped about
it like a shroud. Nearly every bone in
his body was broken.
He mad gambled with death once too
often but he played the game to the
end, fighting coolly and grimly to the
last second to regain control of his
broken machine. Fresh from his tri-
umphs at Belmont park, where he had
broken the worlds record for altitude
with a flight Of 9114 feet, tombstone at
tempted to give the thousands of spec
tators an extra thrill with his most
daring feat. the spiral glide which has
made the Wright aviator famous. The
spectators got their thrill. but it cost
Johnstone his life.
The fatal fight was the second john
stone made this afternoon. In the first
flight when he was in the air with
Hoxsey and Brookins. he went through
| his usual program of dips and glides
| with the machine apparently under
perfect control. Then he rose again and
after a few circles of the course to
hi, No lad n,~fl hn
| hills,
| Still ascending, he swept back in a
| big circle and as he reached the north
| end of the enclosure. he started his
spiral glide He was then at an alti
tude of about 500 feet. With his planes
tilted at an angle of almost 80 de-
grees, he swooped down in a narrow
circle. the aeroplane seeming to turn
almost in its own length. AS he start
| ed the second circle the middle spur
which braces the left side of the lower
plane, gave way, and the wing tips of
| both upper and lower planes doubled
| up as though they had been hinged.
For second tombstone attempted to
right the plane by warping the other
| wing tip. Then the Mortified specta-
|
straight toward the earth.
tombstone was thrown from his seat
as the nose of the plane swung down
| ward.
| He caught one of the wire stays be-
tween the planes and grasped one Of
| the wood braces of the upper planes
with both hands. Then working with
hands and feet, he tried by main
strength to warp the planes so that
| their surfaces might catch the air and
check his descent. For a second it
seemed he might succeed, for the foot
| ball helmet he wore blew off and fell
much more rapidly than the plane.
The hope was momentary, however.
| for when about 800 feet from the
ground, the machine turned completely
over and the spectators fled wildly as
| the broken plane. with the aviator still
struggling bravely in it's mesh Of wires
and stays, plunged among them with a
crash.
! Scarcely had tombstone hit the
ground before morbid men and women
swarmed over the wreckage fighting
with each other for souvenirs. one OF
the broken wooden stays had gone al
most through JohnStone's body. Be
fore doctors or police could reach the
scene one man tore this splinter from
the body and ran away, carrying his
| trophy with the aviatorS blood still
| dripping from it's end. The crowd tore
away the canvas from over the body
and even fought for the gloves that
had protected Johnstone's hands from
| the cold.
The machine fell on the opposite side
of the field from the grandstand and
there We're but few hundred near the
| spot, but physicians and police were
rushed across as soon as possible. Ply
| sicians declared death must have been
| instantaneous, for Johnsons back, neck
and legs were broken, the bones of his
thigh being forced through the flesh and
the leather garments he wore.
Arch Hoxsey was in the air when the
accident took place. He saw that John
stone had fallen and descended as soon
as he could and rushed to the wreckage.
where he and Walter Brookins helped
lift the mangled form to an automobile
which brought it to the city.
Many of the spectators were watching
stones machine collapse, but a woman's
shrek, my God! He's gene.'' drew every
eye in time to see him dashed to death
The band in the grandstand, blaring
| away under contract, never ceased to
play and Johnstone's body was taken
out of the enclosure with the strains of
a ragtime melody for funeral march,
1t. would seem that many incidents
happened during the meet to warn
the Inflated aviator. Yesterday, in
alighting, tombstone broke the left
wing tip of his machine against a
fence. 1t was the same tip which gave
way today and caused his death. To-
day when he started on his first
flight one of the wheels on which the