New-York tribune., 1910-01-05
AER0NAUT KILLED
FELL FROM MACHINE.
Delagrange Dropped 80 Feet
and Has Crushed.

x
French aviator whose achievements during
the last two years had won for him n high
place among those who have set out to
conquer the air was instantly killed here
to-day while making flight in the pres
eBce Of a great crowd of spectators.
A strong uncertain wind prevailed, but
with characteristic daring Delagrange
faced il i'm the same monoplane i'm which
he made record of ffty-threc miles an
hour at the Doncaster meeting last Octo-
Der. He circed the aerodTo;ae. seeming
to have his machine under good control.
and yet at times 1t heeled dangerously 10
the wind
On the third round when at height OF
about siXty-five feet he increased his
speed He swung wide at the turns. but
at the lower end of the aerodrome he at
tempted TO describe a sharp curve. The
machine was seen to sway The left wing
was broken and the right wing immedi-
ately collapsed. The aeroplane came plung-
ing to the earth. and it turned half over
as it fell, with the aviator cIinging to the
seat In this way it crashed TO the ground.
Delagrange was beneath, and the heavy
motor crushed out his life
The mechanicians are at a loss to ex-
plain the exact cause of the accident. They
are merely able to say that it resulted from
manoeuvring too quickly in the puffy wind
The monoplane was doubly braced at the
essential points. and had been given a
careful examination before ascending.
Leon Delagrange ranked among the first
of the aviators of the world. On December
80 last, at Juvisy he broke all speed rec
ords. The occasion was an attempt to win
the Michelin Cup. He did not succeed in
beating Henry Farman's record for dis
tance, but did establish a new distance
record for monoplane and new worlds
speed record He covered 124 miles in
hours and 30 minutes. maintaining an aver
age speed of approximately forty-nine miles
an hour
His first public flight was made on March
16. 1907, at Bagatelle, France, when he
ascended in biplane. The machine moved
thirty feet in the air and descended. Some
days later DeIagrange made a flight o. 453
feet. carrying a passenger. He continued
experiments with biplane, and visiting
Rome IN 1908, made fight in the presence
or royalty Soon afterward at Turin he
took a woman passenger on a brief trip
On September s, 1908, he beat the then ex-
1sting time record by travelling Is 2-5 miles
in 20 minutes and 50 seconds. In May, 1909
at Juvisy, he the Lagatineri prize.
making $40 miles in 10 minutes and IS
seconds
He entered the competitions at Rheims
in August last, appearing for the first
time in a monoplane. He captured the
tenth prize for speed and the eighth prize
for distance. In September last he visited
Denmark, and made flight of fifteen min
utes duration before King Frederick at
Aarhus.
Delagrange's first really sensational flight
and the one that made him a contender
for all prizes was accomplished at Dom
caster on October rs, 1909. At that time
he flew miles in minutes and Sc seconds.
or at rate at times of more than fifty
miles hour.
Delagrange had exhibited great daring,
and at times did not hesitate to assume
grave risks rather than disappoint crowds
that had gathered to see him. On Novem-
Der .. 1907. he fell with his aeroplane while
giving exhibition at Issy. The machine
was smashed, but the aviator escaped with
few cuts and bruises.
During the aviation week at Rheims the
propeller of Delagrange's machine broke
from its shaft and the aeroplane fell heav-
lily to the ground. He was badly bruised
but no bones were broken.
In July last Delagrange was decorated
with the Order of the Legion of Honor and
last month the Academy of Sciences at
Paris voted him an enamel medal for aero
nautic achievements. In 1907 Delagrange
was elected president of the Aviation Club
of France
The name of Delagrange is the fifth to be
added to the roll of those killed in a motor
power aeroplane. The fatalities have oc-
CURED within fifteen months, beginning
with the death of Lieutenant Selfridge at
Fort Myer in September, 1905. A year
later E. Lefebvre. the French aviator, was
killed when his aeroplane, a Wright ma
chine, turned turtle on September Z 1893
On September %, 1909 Captain Ferber,
French officer, killed at Boulogna
when his aeroplane overturned and fell
with him on December s. Antonio Fernan-
dez, a Spaniard, was killed at Nice, France,
when in a first ascension his aeroplane
tipped over after he had made a short
flight.