The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-08-19
ROCK ISLAND
FL|ER KILLED
IN ROCKFORD
bud" Bridgens, Flying
Fox, New Parachute
Drop Fails.

Bud Bridgens, i"rying Fox" of
ahe Tri-City Aerial Transportation
company, was Killed in a 1,4oO-foot
parachute drop from a plane at
Rockford at 2:30 yesterday after
noon His wife. a bride of two
months, was a passenger in the
plane from which Bridgens jumped.
Bridgens was Is years old and
came flo Rock Island from Chicago
July H. He took up stunt work
with the Tri-City Aerial Transpor-
tati8n company, which had just
been organized, with DR.. H. l..
Brandenburg of Rock Island as
president Bridgens home in this
city was at the Mrs. Addie Elem
ing residence, 1924 Fifteenth street.
Bridgens had done stunt work
with the local nying circus in Iowa,
Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kan
sas and North and South Dakota.
He anu wife left Rock Island
Monday for Rockford where the
circus was to show Tuesday and
Wednesday at the Rockford Driv-
ing park. On account of rain the
dates were changed to Friday and
Saturday
Bridgens' repertoire was that of
plane to plane changes, auto to
plane changes, parachute drops
and aerial tr2peze work.
At 2:30 O'Clock yesterday after
noon he went up for practice work
preparatory to the postponed open
ing of the circus today. The plane
was a Curtis machine, pilOted by
r. A. Won Hake of Salt Lake City,
Utah. Bridgens wife was a pas
senger.
Parachute Sack Rope Breaks.
According to word received here
of the accident, the rope, with
which the sack containing the par
achute was tied to the plane, broke
and Bridgens fell 1,400 feet with
the parachute held tight in the
sack.
The parachute was laced in a
sack, the upper end of which was
tied to the plane By unlacing the
lower part of the sack and jump
ing the weight of the jumper pulls
the parachute out of the sack but
leaves the sack tied to the plane.
ceived here, there was a weak spot
in the rope and when Bridgens I'M
laced the sack and made his leap,
instead Of the parachute pulling
out the jerk broke the rope and
the sack also came down, impris-
oning the folds of the parachute
so that it could not open.
Mrs. Bridgens could see her hus-
bands body hurting downward and
Pilot Won Hake hurriedly brought
the plane to the ground. Mrs.
Bridgens was said TO have been
highly hysterical when she was
aided in alighting from the plane.
She soon regained her composure
and has since been holding up well
under the tragedy.
The body of the dead aerial per-
former is TO be taken to Sandwich,
Ill, the home of his mother, where
the funeral will be held
First Accident of Circus.
The death of Bridgens was the
first accident of the Tri-City Fly
ing circus, which was organized by
tri-city men who own II racing au-
tomobiles. six motorcycles, seven
bicycles and two Curtis airplanes.
The company employs two airplane
pilots, a balloon and trapeze per-
former, a balloon and parachute
jumper, IL automobile drivers, six
motorcycle riders and seven mo-
torcycle riders. Bridgens was an
s'l-around stu.t worker of the
circus.
II was announced today by own
ers of the circus that due to the
death of Bridgens no performances
will be held in Rockford today, but
that the circus will show there
Saturday and Sunday.