Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-06-03
Aviator ParmaIee Falls to
His Death, Saturday.
Biplane Makes Fatal Plunge
In Sight Of Thousands.
Unfortunate Man Had Just Ascend
ed from North Yokima, Wash.

North Yakima, Wash, June O.
With smile and a wave of his hand
to the thousands who watched him in
his aeroplane. Philip o. ParmaIee took
the air in the teeth of gusty west
wind here. Saturday. Three minutes
later his broken and lifeless body was
dragged from beneath the wreckage OF
his biplane, in an apple orchard. in the
lower end of the Mckee valley, two
miles from his starting point. The ex-
act cause of his plunge to death prob
ably never will be known.
As he rose from before the grand :
stand at the fair grounds Parmalee
flew to the west over the Yakima river.
He rose about 400 feet, and his speed
increased to almost a mile a minute.
although it was noticed that his plane
dipped and rolled and seemed to be
controlled with difficulty.
when he had gone about two miles
from the fair grounds he eireled wide
ly To the eastward for the return. As
he squared away before the wind the
great plane checked its course, hutter-
ed second and plunged below the
line of trees. 1t is thought by Parma
lees meehanieians that sudden gust
from one of the draws or small can
yons notching sides of the valley
struck the machine and rendered the
elevating planes Interchangeable.
The body of the aviator was taken
from beneath the wreckage of the ma
chine by farmers who were working in
the orchard His skull was fractured
and he must have died instantly.
Among the first from the fair
grounds to reach the aviator's place of
fall was Miss G. e. Turpin. Parmalees
faneee, and sister of ]. Clifford Turpin.
his partner in aviation. She hysteri-
eally threw her arms about Parnalee.
insisting that he was not dead. Even
after the body had been examined by
physicians she believed that spark
of life remained and demanded that
efforts be made To resuscitate him.
You remember how 1t was with
Hamilton" she repeated over and over
again. She refused To leave the body
until it was necessary TO turn it over
to the undertakers.
Before he prepared for his last flight.
Parmalee was urged to postpone the
exhibition at least until tine wind les
sened but he laughed at the persistent
misfortune that had logged aviators
for the last week and climbed to his
seat.
The biplane was so crushed that
meehanieians were unable to trace
definitely the cause of its fall.
Los Angeles, June local aviators
discussing the death of Phil Parmalee.
which occurred. yesterday. We're almost
unanimous in attributing it to the fact
that he was flying machine to which
he was unaccustomed.
Roy KnabenslIue who managed the af-
fairs of Parmaiee for a time, said:
1T was predicted when Phil left here
he would have trouble with his home
built machine. but no one dreamed of
a fatal accident as Phil was one of the
most skilful aviators in the country.
'The aeroplanes he and Turpin took
north We're built here, following the Trac-
tor model, with the engine and propeller
in front. Parmalee was not accustomed
to that type and some of us who saw
him preliminary flights felt that the ma
chine he used was not properly balanced.
There is little doubt in my mind that the
imperfect balance OF the machine caused
Phips DEATH