The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-11-18
FALLS TO
HIS DEATH
Aviator tombstone Drops 500
Feet
SPIRAL GLIDE IS FATAL
Part of the Biplane Gives Way and
Wing Tips Fold Up-Effort to Pull
Plane into Position Fails-Ter-
rife Fail to Earth.

Denver, Col, Nov lS.--With one wing
/ tip of his machine crumpled like piece
of paper, Ralph tombstone, the brilliant
young aviator, holder of the worlds al
titude record, yesterday dropped like a
phmmet from beight of 500 feet into
the enclosure at Overland park aviation
field and was instantly killed
When the spectators reached him, his
body lay beneath the engine of the BIZ.
plane, 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, john
stone had gambled with death once too
often, but he played the game to the
end, fighting coolly and grimly to the
last second toregain control OF his brok-
en- machine
Fresh from his triumphs at Belmont
Park, where he had broken the worlds
record for altitude with flight of 9,7l4
feet, tombstone attempted to give the
thousands of spectators an extra thrill
with his most daring feat, the spiral
glide, which has made the Wright avi-
ators famous, The spectators got their
thrill, but it cost tombstone his life.
In the fatal flight, tombstone after
few circuits Of the course to gain height.
headed toward the foothills. Still as
eending, he swept back in big circle,
and as he reached the north end of the
enclosure started his spiral glide. He
was then at an altitude OF 500 feet.
With his planes tilted at an angle of
almost 80 degrees, he swooped down IN
a narrow circle, the aeroplane seeming
to turn almost ia its own length.
As he started 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
folded up as though they had been
hinged. For a second Johnston attempt
ed 10 right the plane by warping the
other wing up.
Then the Mortified spectators saw the
plane swerye like wounded bird and
plunge straight toward the earth.
Johnston was thrown from his seat
as the nose of the plane swung down,
ward
He caught on one OF the wire stays
between the planes and grasped one OF
the wooden braces of the upper plane
with both hands. Then, working with
hands and feet, be fought by main
strength to warp the planes so that
their surfaces might catch the air and
check his descent. For a second il
seemed he might succeed, for the football
helmet he wore blew off and fell much
more rapidly than the plane.
The hope was momentaTy, 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 fighting
grimly in its 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
wood stays had gone almost through
Johnstone's body Before the doctors
or police could reach the scene, one man
had torn this splinter from the body
and run away carrying his trophy with
the aviator's blood still dripping from
its ends.
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.
Physicians declare death must have
been instantaneous, as Johnston's back
and neck and both legs were broken,
the bones Of the thigh being forced
through the flesh and the leather gar
ments he wore.
Arch Hoxsey, who in previous flight
yesterday afternoon had reached an alti-
tude of $500 feet, had just risen before
tombstone began his fatal glide, and was
in the air when the accident took place.