The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-08-16
TWO BIRD men DIE
Badger and JOhnstOne Killed at
Chicago Aviation Meet.
Both Accidents Caused by Flaws
in the Machines.
ONE DROPPED IN PIT
The Other Went to the Bottom
of Lake Michigan.
Atwood Flies to Elkhart, Ind,
Without a Stop.
ONE DROPPED IN PIT

Chicago. Aug 16.-Two aviators,
William r. Badger of Pittsburg, and
St. Croix tombstone of Chicago. both
young men, lost their lives at the in
ternational aviation meet here late
yesterday. In dying both revealed the
frailty of the craft in which two score
more aviators were curving and Gid
ing about in the air, with scarcely
pause for the deaths of their contem-
poraries.
Death in both cases was due to un-
explained accidents, probably the re-
suits of unsupported defects in the
mechanism of the machines, and was
in no way caused by carelessness nor
lack of responsibility of the drivers.
Badger, a wealthy youth, came to
his death in pit in the aviation field.
There had been flaw in one of the
wings of the propeller of the Baldwin
machine he drove Centrifugal force
broke the propeller, upset the delicate
equilibrium of the machine and Badg-
er dashed 100 feet to the bottom of
the pit, his neck being broken.
Johnstone fell 500 feet under his
engine and was drowned in Lake
Michigan as the result of an equally
unsupported defect. Caught under the
heavy engine in the MOisant mono
plane, he was carried deep into the
lake and his body was not brought to
the surface until an hour later
Badger lived for three-quarters of
an hour after he had been extricated
from the wreck of his engine. He did
not recover consciousness and died al
most Immediately after he had reached
q hospital His death was the first
serious accident of the meet although
thirty-five fiiers have dipped and glid-
ed here for three days and experts say
several similar accidents have been
narrowly averted.
Badger flew as he formerly drove
racing automobiles, purely as an anna
teur. He was the stepson of John
Goettman of Pittsburg, and was 25
years old. He possessed an independ-
ent fortune and gratifed a well de-
veloped speed mania. In the early
days of automobiles, he was among the
first to make amateur records at Day
tona and Palm Beach. He was an in
innate friend of Louis Strang, the
automobile race driver, who died be-
meath the engine of an automobile in
Wisconsin about month ago.
Through Strang, Badger became in
terested in aeroplanes and both be-
came amateur aviators
His First Public Appearance.
The meet. which began last Sunday,
was Badgers first public appearance
The big mechanical sign board after
his death recorded that he had flown
up to just hours, 13 minutes and g
seconds. The flight that ended his life
earned him possibly an hour more.
He fell just in front of the center of
tn grandstand and thousands of spec
tators witnessed the accident. Hun
dreds leaped the fence fought past
the line of police and rushed into the
pit where the wrecked biplane lay
There was near panic in the field and
numerous heads were cracked by po-
lice clubs In the general audience
largely sprinkled with women. there
was a craning of necks and murmur
of excitement. The injury was an
nounced through the megaphone and
five minutes later while Badger was on
his way to a hospital attention and in
terest had reverted to the men still
flying. any of whom offered possibili-
ties of similar thrills and possible
fatalities.
Through his friendship with Strang,
Badger met Captain Thomas /. Bald
win. He bought an aerOplane outright
and received his first flying lessons at
Mineola, n. Y. On June Is he made
a successful flight and was granted a
pilots license. Following this he had
further flights and his enthusiasm
grew. He practiced with J. c. (Bud)
Marrs. and decided to enter the meet
here. He had planned to finish the
meet here and then take a train to
Wheeling, whence he wanted to make
a triumphant flight into his home CITY
of Pittsburg. He was entered in
coming meet in Boston.
Captain Baldwin after the accident
at once withdrew all his machines
JOhnstOne's Fail.
JohnstOne's accident was due. ac-
cording to expert aviators, to similar
unsupported flaws in the mechanism
of his mOnoplane. Just what it was
probably will never be known. as the
engine is deep in the lake and the
wood and canvas of the plane we're
broken and scattered by the tremend-
Gus impact with the surface of the
water.
Johnstone's actual fall was Witness
ed by his young wife. although it was
not until half an hour later that she
was informed of his death
As the monoplane faltered in mid
air, then crashed downward to the
surface of the lake, the young aviator's
wife, who had been following his flight
closely. Frasped q mechanics arm and
exclaimed in fear: ooh. oh pity: He's
falling! My boy will be killed."
Wives of half a dozen other aviators
whose attention had been riveted on
the plunging machine that was to car
~ the second victim of the day to his
death. rushed to Mrs. Johnstone's side.
and as the machine hurtled into the
lake and out of sight, they tried to as
sure her that tombstone would suffer
nothing more than ducking
Possibly not" exclaimed the fear
stricken wife, but you could see the