The Ekalaka eagle., 1911-09-01
TOMBSTONE AND W. r. BADGER
LOSE LIVES BECAUSE OF
FLAWS IN CRAFT.
BOTH WERE AMATEUR flIERS
Former Plunges 500 Feet in View of
Wife, and Orowrs.-La after Ca.
reens to Death in Front of
Grandstand.

C!llcaSO, Aug. II. - TWO aVlatOrS,
William K. Badger Of Pittsburg and
st. Croix Johnstone of Chicago, both
young men, lost their lives at the
International Aviation meet here In
dying, both revealed the frailty Of the
craft in which two score more avia-
tors were curvirs and gliding about
the air. with scarcely a pause for the
deaths OF their contemporaries.
Death in both cases was due to I'M
explained accidents, probably the re-
suits OF nnsnspected defects in the
mechanism of the machines and was
in no way caused by carelessness nor
lack OF responsibility of the drivers.
Badger, wealthy youth, careened
to his death in "A pit in the aviation
field There mad been d flaw in one
Of the wings of the propeller of the
Baldwin machine he drove. Centrifu
gal force broke the propeller. upset
the delicate equilibrium of the ma.
chine and Badger dashed 100 feet
to the bottom Of the pit. his neck
being broken
.Johnstonc fell 800 feet under his
engine and was drowned as the result
OF an equally unsuspected defect.
Caught under the heavy engine in the
Moisant mOnoplanc, hc was carried
deep into Lake Michigan and his body
was not brought 10 thc surface until
an hour later.
Dies on Reaching Hospital
Badger lived threc-quarters of an
hour after he had been extricatcd
from the remains OF his engine He
did not recover consciousness, how
ever. and died almost at once after
he had reached he hospital
His death was the first serious ac-
cident OF the meet although 3o flyers
have dipped and gitlcd here and ex-
perts say several similar accidents
have been narrowly avertcd. badger
flew purely as an amateur.
This meet WIS his first public ap.
pearance. Tho big mechanical sign
board, after his death. recorded that
he had flown just two hours. IL min
utes and 10 seconds. The flight which
ended his life had credited him with
possibly an honr more in the air
He fell just in front of the center
of the grandstands and thousands of
spectators We're within a few hundred
yards of the accident. Hundreds leap
ed the fence. fought past the line
of police and rushed into the pit where
the wrecked bplanc lay. There was
a near-panic in The field and numer.
GUS heads were cracked by police
clubs. In the general audience large.
ly sprinkled with women. there was
craning of ncCkS and a murmur of
excitement
The injury was announced through
the meSaphone and five minutes later,
while Badger was on his way to
hospital, attention and interest had
reverted to the men still flying. any
of whom offered possibilities Of SINH
lar thrills and possible fatalities.
Craft Shattered by impact
JOhnstone's accident was due, ac-
cOrding to expert aviatOrS, to a SINH.
lar unsuspccted flaw in the mechanism
OF his monopano lust what it was
probably never will be known as the
engine is deep in the lake and the
wood and canvas of the plano were
broken and scattered by the tremend-
Gus impact with the surface of the
water.
jOhnstonc's actual fall was Witness
ed by his young ife. aIthough i, was
not until half an hour later that she
was informed Of his death. His par
ents had left the field only a few
minutes before. lie was also an anna.
teur.