The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-08-20
PROTECTION NEEDED
FOR BOLD AV|AT0Rs
Recent Deaths and Accident to
Madame FRANKIE Make Such
Imperative
AERO PRESIDENT ACTS
Joint Committee Of Club and
League in France Now Con-
sidering the Subject
AERO PRESIDENT ACTS
PARIS Anx. 10.

y PARIS, Aug. 10
The death OF the unfortunate NJ Mich
ofas Kinet and the more recent accident
10 Madame FRANKIE added to the many
other recent fatalities. makes an article
by NJ. Rene Quinton, president Of the
Aerial League. on the necessity OF pads
or life protectors for aviafors, sppeAr very
iopportune. NJ Quinton. In an article In
the Eclair. says that II Is high time that
the safety OF the aviator should be taken
seriously into consideration. The fre.
anent repetition Of similar fatalities
against which certain precautions might
be taken makes IT imperative that some-
thing shouid be DONE
Aviation Ii itself In danger OF seeing
It's progress hampersd. without security
there can be no flying. Just ~ there are
today no steamers that are not provided
with lifebelts. so no aviator ought TO be
without his life-pr0tecter. In sailing
through the air man ventures on new
Element which 10 not lesS treacherous than
The wave. and the Aviatore safety ought
10 be- one OF the first things to be cons
sidered Ii the problem cannot be solved.
aviation will be nipped In the bud.
Subject Being Considered
ii is for this very reason. says N. GUM
ton that the committees OF the Aerial
League ard or the Aero Club have been
for the past few weeks considering the
subject. The Aerial League II prepared
to open a public cosupetitton for the best
life protectors, which many Of its menu
bers consider an absolute necessity. The
suggestion Of Rudyard Kipling OF pneu-
matte helmet and other protecting devtces
seems to him to be dictated by common
sense.
Al great many fatal accidents. he sats,
might have been avoided II such devices
had been used. Such protectors, Of
course, would be Intellectual In cases Of
i fall from very great altitude. but
In the ma 5ority OF instances the descent
Ii really from small height. The ayiator.
instead Of being dashed brutally 70 the
ground. would fall In reality on an air
cushion. which would nearly always gave
his life
ri III enough to recall the majority or
fatal fails to recognize the utility or such
precautIon. + III snch life-protector
had been used, Captain Ferber, Lefebre.
Fernandez. DeiaRranse and several
others would still be alive. II Rougter
had NOT fallen into the sea 1T Niee. Ne
would probably also have lost his life.
Air Cushion suggsatsd
There are many instances in which
aviators have faliens and we were told
that they escaped - By = miracle.
becaIIse they were protected BY bar ok
wood or network OF wires which daadensd
the first impact How much more safe
would the aviator be IL he were always
sure Of finding an air-cushion between
him and the hard ground or parts OF the
motor. Captain Ferber would certainly
still be alive * such cushion had been
between his chest and the motor.
Mr.. Quinton's conclusion b that no ef-
fort should now bA spared TO make avis
ton practical, and II can only be made
practical BY being made safe, As re-
CARDS this fatal accident to A. Nicholas
Kinet, the writer reinarks that the fall
was from considerable heiKht, and 70
= simple protective pad or shield would
probably not have saved him. For such
eases. re says regular parachute ought
to be devised.