Harold R . Harris Harold Ross Harris ( December 20 , 1895 – July 28 , 1988 ) was a notable American test pilot and U . S . Army Air Force officer who held 26 flying records . He made the first flight by American pilots over the Alps from Italy to France , successfully tested the world ' s first pressurized aircraft , was the first airman to safely escape an aircraft by " bailing out " using a free - fall parachute . In his civilian career he helped create the first aerial application " crop dusting " business , and later retired as vice - president of Pan American Airways . Early years . Harold R . Harris was born on 20 December 1895 in Chicago , Illinois as a son of Ross Allen Harris and his wife Mae Plumb Harris . He showed an interest in aircraft at an early age , and at the age of 15 skipped school to attend the first National Aviation Meeting from 10 – 20 January 1910 at Dominguez Field , in Los Angeles , California . As there were no aviation engineering courses yet available he studied Mechanical Engineering at the Throop College of Technology ( later Caltech ) in 1910 and 1911 , graduating with a B . S . Because of World War I , in 1916 Harold R . Harris joined a Citizen ’ s Military Training Camp at Monterey , California , which was one of the few with an aviation unit . Enrolling there he became an Engineering Officer in the First Provisional Aero Squadron . When the U . S . entered the war , Harris enlisted in the Army Signal Reserve Corps at San Diego , California . He was sent to the first ground school class at the University of California Berkeley , and graduated in July 1917 . After graduation he was sent to Europe for flight training where he helped set up the 8th Aviation Instruction Center for the Allied Expeditionairy Force in Foggia , Italy . After 181 minutes of dual instruction time , he soloed , and shortly afterward was named Chief Instructor for both day and night training . He served at Foggia from March to July 1918 . While there Harris flew Farman and Caproni bombers . On July 25 , 1918 , Harris along with co - pilot , George Lewis , led the first successful flight by American pilots over the Alps , crossing from Italy to France in four Caproni bombers . While based in Italy Harris also helped the United States Navy establish an aerial ferry route from Ilan to Paris . Test pilot . Following the conclusion of World War I , in September 1918 Harris was recalled to the United States and assigned as a test pilot at Wilbur Wright Field in Dayton , Ohio . He remained at Wilbur Wright Filed until 1920 when the Engineering Division was reassigned to McCook Field , near downtown Dayton . McCook field was the Army Air Service ' s experimental test field . There Harris was appointed Chief , Flight Test Branch , Engineering Division , US Army Air Service . At McCook Field Harris became one of the Army ' s most important experimental test pilots . On June 8 , 1921 Harris became the first pilot to fly a pressurized aircraft when he successfully flew a Dayton - Wright USD - 9A with an experimental pressurized cockpit . Two McCook Field test pilots had previously tried to fly the aircraft without success , including test pilot John A . Macready , who held the world altitude record in an oxygen equipped unpressurized aircraft . On August 11 , 1921 , Harold R . Harris flew the first airmail aircraft designed to pick up airmail sacks from the ground . On October 20 , 1922 Harris made history as the first pilot to bail out of a stricken aircraft using a free - fall parachute . Harris was flying a Loening monoplane with a modified aileron when the aileron began oscillating badly , pulling the control stick from his hands . Facing a certain crash , Harris bailed out of the stricken aircraft , landing in a backyard grape arbor at a house at 335 Troy St . , suffering only bruises on his legs and hand from fighting with the control stick . The Loening crashed into the side yard of a house at 403 Valley St , three blocks away . There were no injuries to anyone on the ground . For his survival Harris was awarded the first membership in the Caterpillar Club , a club for aviators who have bailed out of stricken aircraft and survived . The name refers to the insect that produces the silk used in parachutes . in 1922 , before he left McCook Field , Harris graduated from the Air Corps Engineering School ( a predecessor to the Air Force Institute of Technology ) in Dayton , OH . In 1923 Harris became the first pilot to fly the massive Barling Bomber , the world ' s largest aircraft . Harris and his co - pilot Lt . Fairchild would be virtually the only pilots to fly the enormous aircraft during its brief operational career . On February 23 , 1924 , Harris became one of the first pilots to fly the Emile Berliner Helicopter , the U . S . Air Service ' s first experimental helicopter . Unauthorized " stunt " flying was common at McCook Field , and in 1924 Harris was observed flying his DH - 4 under a bridge over the Great Miami River while upside down . In 1926 Harold R . Harris held 13 world flying records . By the conclusion of his test pilot career Harris held 16 American and 10 world flight records . Post test career . Harold R . Harris briefly left the military in 1926 to begin the Huff Daland Dusting Company , the world ' s first crop dusting company . Though he did not fly as a crop duster he had helped with the development of crop dusting while stationed at McCook Field . In 1925 Harold R Harris testified before the Morrow Board , a review board created by President Calvin Coolidge to investigate the potential of private , and commercial aviation . Harris testified that safeguards would have to be implemented to assure the safety of airline passengers that went beyond those in use on military aircraft . Harris also proposed an airline connecting the west coast of South America with the United States . In response to his suggestion , in 1929 Pan American founded Grace Airways , a joint venture between Pan American World Airways and Grace Shipping . The airline operated four Fairchild FC - 2 cabin planes . At Harris ' suggestion the planes were furnished with toilets , a first for any aircraft . The FC2 were the first aircraft carrying the American flag to fly scheduled routes south of the Equator . Between 1929 and 1939 Harris was based in Peru , where he held the position of Vice - President and Chief Operations Officer of Grace Airways . World War II . With the onset of World War II Harris was asked to go to Washington D . C . , where , as a civilian , he set up the Plan Section of the Army Air Transport Command . He accepted a commission as Colonel in the Air Transport Command in 1942 , resigned from Pan American Grace Airways . During the War Harris served as Assistant Chief of Staff , Plans ; Assistant Chief of Staff , Operations ; Commanding Officer of Domestic Transportation Division . When he left the service in 1945 he was the Acting Chief of Staff of Air Transport Command , having attained the rank of Brigadier General . Post War . Harold R . Harris left the military for the second time to join American Overseas Airlines . In 1950 American Overseas Airlines was incorporated into Pan Am Airlines , and Harris became Vice - President in charge of the Atlantic Division . From 1954 to 1955 Harris was President and Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Airlines . He resigning because of health issues , and conflicts with the Northwest Airlines Board of Directors . From 1955 until 1965 Harris was President of Aviation Financial Services , Inc . , a company that helped fledgling airlines acquire operating capital . Harris retired in 1965 at age 70 . Harold R . Harris died in his home in Falmouth , Massachusetts on July 28 , 1988 , at age 92 . He was married to Grace Harris with whom he had two children : son Harold R . Harris Jr . and daughter Alta Mae Harris .