The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1922-09-14
AIR QUARTET DIES
AT VERMONT FAIR
Flying Parson and His Two Avia-
ton Associates Drop 5000
Feet 10 Doom.
PARACHUTE FAILS TO OPEN
Bslioonist Meets Like Fate When,
Dropping 800 Feet, Paraehute
Fails 10 open-cro~d Of
$1,000 Sees Fall.


T Rutland. Vt-FOr a crowd OF 10000
I people assembled al the Rutland Fair
Grounds a flying circus" staged with
airplanes and balloons. was turned into
tragedy, four participants meeting
death An alrplane crashed from a
height Of 1000 feet carrying to their
I death the pilot, mechanic aud pas
7 senger. A few hours later an seronaut,
( leaping from a balloon 1900 feet In the
/ air, was killed when his parachute
! failed to open.
The dead are Lieut.. Belyin w. May.
/ nard. known throughout the country
as the flying parson," pilot OF the air
plane, Lieut. l. H. Wood Of Ticon-
deroga, n. Y, passenger with May
nard Charles Mionette Of Plattsburg,
{ n. Y. mechanic, and Henry A. (Dare-
/ deyiD Smith Of Boston, an aeronaut.
Lieutenant Maynard and his com
panions, who had been making daily
flights at the fair grounds, fell to
earth about / o'clock in field near
/ the grounds Hardly had the crowd
recovered from the shock Of this when
the second accident came.
Smith, a professional aeronaut, had
I already made two successful parachute
leaps at various attitudes during the
afternoon At his third attempt the
parachute was seen to open slightly,
then close. Then the aeronaut dropped
like a plummet, falling just outside
the fence of the grounds.
Smith, who was forty-three years OF
age, had been giving parachute ex.
hibltiOns at fairs throughout the east
for the last ten years. Two years ago,
while attempting parachute drop
from an alrplane at Lynn, Mass, he
fell 800 feet and was severely injured.
The pilot Of the plane was killed. The
seronaut claimed that his average was
thirty parachute drops year.
Lieutenant Wood and Mionette, who,
with Lieutenant Maynard. comprised
the personnel OF flying circus" that
had entertained large crowds daily for
week with stunt flying, went up as
passengers with Maynard. Both were
instantly killed, while Maynard was
breathing while spectators rushed to
the wreck. He died on the way 10 a
hospital
The three aviators, using Maynards
machine, took off the field about l
o'clock for an exhibition flight. They
had performed several of the stunts
on their program when at an altitude
Of 1000 feet Lieutenant Maynard tried
tail spin, apparently believing that
he was at greater altitude. The plane
refused to respond and fell into y
nose dive, landing in cornfield at the
edge of the fair grounds, mass Of
wreckage.
Governor HARNESS and his stan were
among the crowd. which was the
largest in the history Of the fair.
The body OF Lieutenant Maynard
was sent to his home at Maynard, n.
c. The local post OF the American
Legion took charge Of the arrange
ments and escorted the coffin TO the
train.
The death OF Belvin w Maynard,
popularity known as THE Flying Par
son." removes from the aeronautical
world an international figure. Winner
OF the New York to Toronto and return
aerial Derby and the New York to San
Francisco race, postwar competitions,
he became known throughout the
world as one Of the leading aviators.
During the war Lieutenant Maynard
was one Of the chief test pilots sta
toned in France. where he tried out
hundreds OF airplanes sent over for
the American forces.
Maynard was a unique personality In
neronautics BY reason OF his pre-war
activities. AT the outbreak Of the war
he was studying for the ministry In the
Baptist Seminary at Kerr, y. c. He
nlled small charges in the country dis
trict
DISPLAYING a remarkable aptitude for
air service. Maynard quickly won his
wings and was designated a reserve |
military aviator. with the rank Of first |
lieutenant