The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-09-08
FOURTH DEATHAT
RUTLAND FAIR IS
!. ....!'' ~: To STUNTS
tlS
Parachute Jumper Crushed Into
Pulp
IN VIEW OF THOUSANDS
Second Tragedy at Rutland Fair
Yesterday Due to Effort
To Thrill
N VIEW OF THOUSANDS

The alrplane tragedy at the Rut.
land fair Thursday afternoon was fol.
lowed by the killing OF Henry A.
Smith, parachute Jumper and bal.
loonlst, whose parachute failed to
open.
Smith, aged AZ, an expert balloonist
OF 10 years experience, plunged 800
feet to the ground when his third and
final parachute failed to open as he
was executing d triple parachute
drop, on his second ascension OF the
day.
Thousands saw him fall, hundreds
discerned his frantic mid-alr efforts
to open his tangled canvas envelope,
and several actually saw him strike
the ground, with sufficient force to
drive his legs up into his torso and
to break practically every bone in his
body.
So far as external evidence went,
Smith apparently was unaffeNed by
the airplane fatality. Three other
aerial experts had met their deatkp
but probably carelessness was involv.
ed, and as for him-weli, his time
had not come.
His first ascension of the afternoon
had been made without mishap. Be
sides the air was ideal for balloon
ing, so calm that the cheers OF the
crowd had easily reached his ears as
he drifted lazily back to eartn in his
lone parachute.
Yet it was with unusual care that
he superintended the preparation OF
each of his three 'chutes. The 20 or
80 foot expanse of canvas was gone
over, as were the ropes connecting
it with the two foot woC<en hoop be-
low.
Then each Of the 'chutes was fold
ed into q compact bunde, some two
feet wide and about eight inches
deep Next they were placed, one
above the other, and the three loops
lashed together. with a safety belt
below the bottom chute, which Smith
was to ride" Everything was
ready and the huge hot-air bag tug.
ged at its guy ropes.
When Smith had gained a height
Of about $500 feet, he reached care
fully upward and pulled the cut-a,
way cord. A small steel blade sever
ed the rope holding man and para
chutes to the balloon, Down they
dropped. for approximately 800 feet,
when the topmost chute opened.
Hardly had it unfolded when Smith
again tugged at the cut-a-way cord.
Down he rushed for another 300
feet, when the second chute opened
to check his descent
Again his hand reached upward
the last time 1t was ever to grasp a
cut-a-way cord.
As he pulled the third shining steel
| blade bit its way through the sup
porting rope, and Smith once more
plunged downward, with but one
chute remaining to halt his descent.
Last Parachute Fails Him.
Down he came for 300 feet, the dis
tance in which chute usually
opens. But this 'chute-on which
he had placed his greatest depend
ence, failed him. Smith was seen
to tug desperately at the ropes in an
attempt to untangle the envelope. For
moment it seemed that he was
about to succeed. A gust of air bel.
lied out one side of the chute, then
the latter collapsed and Smith
plunged plummet-lke to the ground.
He fell in swampy sTSt on the
premises of A. d. Decker, on the
east side OF South Main street, near
the fair grounds.
His body was driven deep into the
soft soil and barely missed striking
horse tethered nearby,
A physician who was hurried to
the spot, declared that death was in
Simultaneous, and the body was re-
moved to the Stearns undertaking
establishment 1t will be sent to
Boston.
Smith had had several narrow es.
capes from death.
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