The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-11-18
naring Aeroplane Artist Who Held the Altitude
Record, Meets His Death in Terrible
Fall From Sky
EVERY Bone in HIS BODY Was BROKEN
Fought Gamely to Save Himself as He Dropped
in Broken Machine From
Great Height

DENVER, Colo, Nov. 1S.-With one
wing tip of his machine crumpled like
niece of paper, Ralph Johnstone,
be brilliant young aviator, holder OF /
tbe worlds altitude record, dropped
like plummet from a height Of 500
feet into the inclosure at Overland |
park aviation field yesterday after
noon, and was almost instantly killed.
When the spectators crowded about
the inclosure reached him, his body
lay beneath The engine of the biplane
with the white planes that had failed
him in his, time of need, wrapped
about it like a shroud. Nearly every
bone in his body was broken.
He had ganlbled with death once
too often, but he played the game to
the end, fighting cody and grimly to
the last second to regain control OF
his broken machine. Fresh from his
triumphs at Belmont Park, where he
had broken the worlds record for al
titude with fight of 9,714 feet, John
stone attempted to give the thous-
ands of spectators an extra thrill
with his most daring feat, the spiral
! glide. which has made the Wright
aviators famous. The spectators got
their thrill, but it cost tombstone his
life
Second Flight Of Day.
The fatal flight was the second
Johnstone had made. In the first
fight, when he was in the air with
Hoxsey and Brookins, he had gone
through his usual program of dips and
glides with the machine apparently
under perfect control. Then John
stone rose again and after a few cir
cults of the course to gain height,
headed toward the foothills.
Still ascending, he swept back in d
big circle and, as he reached the
north. end of the Enclosure, he started
his spiral glide. He was then at al
altitude of about SEQ feet. With his
planes titled at an angle of almos'
80 degrees, he swooped down in 9
narrow circle, the aeroplane seemins
10 turn almost in it's own length.
AS he started the second circle. thi
middle spur. which braced the lei
side of the lower plane. gave wa!
end the wing tips of both upper ant
lower planes folded up IS though
they had been hinged. For secon'
tombstone attempted to right tn
plane by warping the other wing tir
Then the Mortified spectators saw tn
plane swerve like wounded bir
and plunge straight toward the eartf
Fights For His Life In Air.
tombstone was thrown from the sea
as the nose of the plane swung aowr
ward. He caught on one of the w1r
stays between the planes and graspe
one of the wooden braces of tn
upper plane with both hands. The
working with hands and feet h
lought by main strength to warp tn
planes SO that their surfaces migf
catch the air and check his decen
For second it seemed that he mgr
succeed, for the football helmet b
wore, blew off and fell much NOR
rapidly than The plane.
The hope was only momentary, hov
ever, for when about 400 feet from tn
ground the machine turned complet
y over and the spectators fed Wild
as The broken plane, with the aviatt
still fighting grimly in its mesh
wires and stays, plunged among the
with a crash.
Scarcely had Johnstone hit III
ground before morbid men and wome
swarmed over the wreckage, fightir
With each other for souvenirs.
Crowd Fights For Momentoes
One OF the broken wooden sta,
mad gone almost through Johnstone
oody. Before doctors or police cou
reach the scene, one man had to
this splinter from the body and n
away. carrying his trophy with t
aviator's blood still, dripping from
ends.
Frantic, the crowd tore away tt
canvas from over his body and foug
Tor the gloves that had protected /
aands from the cold.
he machine fell on the oppoisl
SIDE of the field from the granl star